Respect Between Enemies
by TheBetanWerecat
Summary: Gundam Seed: “Descending Sword” and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknow
1. Chapter 1

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknowledged but off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

It was a beautiful day. Crisp, clear, the kind of day only Alaska seemed to produce. You could see forever in the clean air, your vision hampered only by the fleecy clouds. It was, according to the Elders, the perfect kind of day to die.

Lt. Kayla Grayhawk pulled her mobile armor hard to her starboard as she dropped her ship's nose to slide under the fire of the GINN on her tail. She'd been in this battle for maybe fifteen minutes now, a lifetime in this place where the EA was outnumbered and outgunned so badly. Damn it! This fight was supposed to be taking place at Panama! That's where everyone said ZAFT was going to strike! And that's where all the rest of the 421st Air Wing was waiting for them. If her ship had been repaired on time, she wouldn't even be here.

But it hadn't been ready yesterday when the 3d Squadron had gone south. And she was here today. And so was ZAFT. In force. Where they weren't supposed to be either.

She could hear one of the few fighter squadrons left pleading for support. But the only thing coming back was the endlessly repeated loop from Command ordering everyone to stand their ground to the bitter end. Fat lot of good that was doing anyone now! Why didn't someone just shut the damned thing off?

The GINN behind her fired again. This time she was forced to roll to port. Shit! This was getting to be a bad habit. This bastard was driving her farther and farther from the base at Josh-A. The frantic chatter in her headset was slowly diminishing as the Earth forces were being cut down back there behind her. She needed to get turned around and back in the main fight! But the GINN following her was too good. She was barely staying out of his targeting ring as it was.

The problem was, the Moebius Zero was designed for space and this was an inside atmosphere fight. Even though hers was fitted out with enough wing surface to handle being in an atmosphere, that didn't really make it combat worthy no matter what the upper echelon people thought. The GINN on the other hand, was designed to handle both space and atmosphere combat. And it was a mobile suit, not mobile armor. It was a lot more adaptable and maneuverable than her ship. Kayla needed a break, something to distract the GINN pilot for a couple of seconds.

The arrival of another GINN right in her path wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind. However, this new guy clearly wasn't as fast on the uptake as the one behind her. He seemed to have an attitude as well; the familiar one she'd seen from some Coordinators before that just assumed they were automatically better than any Natural just because they were there. It was an attitude a smart Natural could use to her advantage. Kayla was a very smart Natural; she had no trouble slipping over his wild shooting to fly right over his shoulder, chewing large pieces out of him as she went by. His wretched aim had the added bonus of forcing the other GINN to dodge the 'friendly' fire, reducing his targeting percentage on her Zero even further.

Suddenly, she had a shield from the persistent first GINN. It would only last a second or two; she was going to have to guess correctly on which way the other pilot would turn and turn the other way. She chose port.

The GINN pilot had picked starboard. She saw that at once as her ship came around hard. He was out of line and still mostly blocked by the incompetent in the second GINN. She wasted no time. Her pods separated from the main hull and she fired.

This time the new GINN lost both legs, the left wing and left arm. She missed the cockpit though as the pilot finally realized he was in serious trouble and threw his machine into a sharp reverse climb she couldn't quite match. She settled for what she could get, killing the machine even if she couldn't have the pilot too. Her score was now three DINNs and one GINN. Too bad it wasn't going to matter one little damn in this battle.

The ruined GINN immediately fell away towards the sea so far below. Kayla kept firing, aiming now at the first GINN as she closed the distance at high speed. Her only hope with a mobile suit was to hit it hard and fast. To do that, she had to get close, so close the damn thing couldn't use it's superior mobility to dodge.

The GINN pilot was a real master of his machine. The professional in her could only admire the skill that kept him out of the most serious of her fire. She was chipping him but she wasn't knocking him down. And in three seconds she was going to shoot past him, giving him a clean shot at her back. For a split second, Lt. Kayla Grayhawk looked again at the Alaskan sky. The Elders were right. It was a good day to die.

Adrian Ito was reminded one more time how stupid it was to assume just being a Coordinator made one automatically superior to every Natural. The pilot of this damn mobile armor was one slippery bastard. He'd chased the Natural a good five minutes and hadn't been able to take him down. Captain Thoms was going to read him the riot act for this! And now the son of a bitch had knocked Holman out of the sky too.

Well, if the fool survived, maybe he'd finally learn to respect a top gun pilot whoever they were. The rest of the Thoms Team had finally shut up about this guy at least. So they'd noticed at last that he wasn't your average Earth Alliance idiot. Oh no, this one was a whole lot better than the EA could usually put up.

If he hadn't flown against him once and so knew the difference in combat style, Adrian would be tempted to think this was the Hawk of Endymion. This was a Moebius Zero in front of him after all. But the Hawk was a lot more aggressive than this pilot and a lot less evasive. An in-your-face fighter style characterized the Hawk. This guy was more a hit-and-run expert. Both of 'em could do a whole lot of damage in a real short time though. It had taken this Natural what, five whole seconds to put Holman out of action?

A hasty check of his screens showed him two more of his Team coming up fast. The Natural had this one pass to take him out before there were three of them on his tail. And no matter how good he was, no Natural was going to come out of it with three expert Coordinator pilots after him when he was completely unsupported himself. Even if the others had elected to sacrifice mobility for extended power by riding those ungainly GUUL's, the three of them were still more than the enemy pilot was going to be able to escape.

Adrian was catching nothing more than minor damage at the moment but it was taking everything he had to keep it that way. The Natural had a fine instinct for which way he was going to turn and only the faster reflexes of a Coordinator kept his GINN mostly out of the line of fire as the other tracked him nearly flawlessly. He didn't really get any opportunity to shoot back. That was going to change in scant seconds. The enemy flyer was going to overshoot him and then the advantage would be all his again.

The GINN rocked as the enemy ripped a noticeable chunk out of his lower left leg. That would weaken the leg and make landing interesting later. It was going to interfere with his flight characteristics as well. But it was not going to knock him down and it was the Natural's last shot before racing past.

Crap! Crap! Crap _and_ shit! She'd missed taking the GINN down! And there was another pair of 'em coming up to support the one she'd been fighting all this while now. She hadn't really done much more than mess up his paintwork. Damn but he was good!

So, she was probably going to die today. Well that didn't mean she had to make it easy for them. Kayla proceeded to throw her ship all over the sky. She was headed back toward the Josh-A base now but holding anything like a straight line out in this sky was begging for a missile to hit you. Since she wasn't interested in meeting any missiles, she played dodge-em to a fair-thee-well. It also kept her out of the ring sights of the three GINNs now following her.

The sky in front of her told its own depressing story. She was getting readings on very few Alliance craft and those were growing fewer with frightening speed. On the water, the ships of the Eurasian Fleet were also disappearing quickly. Only the Eighth Fleet's _Archangel_ seemed to be holding her own and even she was showing smoke and battle damage. On land, she could see a lot of smokes and damn little active fighting left. Yeah, ZAFT was definitely winning this one.

She was less than twelve miles out when her sensors told her someone behind her had finally gotten a target lock on her. She threw the ship wildly to starboard but the lock buzzer stayed on. Split seconds later the ship jumped out of control as enemy fire hit three of her four weapon's pods.

Kayla hit the ejector tabs and shed the ruined units before they could explode on her. They blew in her wake, right in front of the pursuing GINNs, forcing them to dodge around the erupting explosions. Then there were only two GINNs behind her, the third suddenly losing speed and altitude as it trailed smoke toward the shot-torn water below.

She was leaving a thin line of smoke behind her ship too she realized belatedly. The now unbalanced mobile armor was harder to handle, noticeably less responsive to the helm. Her heads-up graphics warned her she'd taken engine damage. The ship was not going to be flying much longer even if the enemy didn't shoot again. A line of laser pulses past her cockpit informed her the enemy was quite intent on helping her hit the ground sooner rather than later.

It was fast decision time. Kayla punched the last ejector and tossed off the remaining pod. She needed to balance the damaged ship a lot more than she needed the firepower now. This was no sky to try ejecting herself into either. The highest probability was the GINN pilots would just pick her off midair.

With the gun pod gone, the ship was a lot more stable. Maneuverability improved as well. She could dodge again almost as well as before and now she was a much smaller target. The enemy fire was now forcing her more and more to move to starboard, toward land and the advancing ZAFT ground forces there. Well, that might be useful.

There was a strip of open ground about three miles to her starboard. It backed up on a pretty open cliff, which was not inviting, but there was no other space down there that wouldn't put her immediately in the center of a small forest fire. It was going to have to do.

A set of wild rolls and turns let her shed altitude and line herself up on the open strip. The GINNs were still behind her but she'd lost so much altitude so quickly there they were far above her now and were going to overshoot her in a second. They would be back fast enough but she couldn't worry about that now. She had to put the ship on the ground in the next twelve seconds and get herself away from it.


	2. Chapter 2

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknowledged but off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

"Ito! What the hell is that damn Natural doing?"

Adrian was braking his GINN and dropping like a stone as his teammate shouted to him. He snorted. Was Baki nearsighted? How obvious could it get? The Alliance pilot was making one hell of a try at getting out alive.

"He's trying to put the ship down, what do you think he's doing?" Adrian snapped. "The shape that thing's in I'm amazed it's still flying let alone answering its helm."

"Well, can you hit it? I don't want that one getting away!"

"Not from this angle." Adrian lied. "In a few more seconds I'll have a clean shot at him."

"He'll be down by then!"

"So what if he is? You think he's gonna be clear of the ship that fast? He's a Natural, Lon. How fast do you think he can run?"

His only answer was a dissatisfied sounding grunt. He could understand Lon's point of view. This was one very dangerous Natural. He'd taken out at least two atmospheric DINNs before Adrian had started chasing him. He'd put Holman into the ocean – and the idiot was so lucky there was a submarine carrier close by when he hit or he'd have drowned. Then he'd tossed off his damaged gun pods and managed to knock Lubbek out of the fight as well. But he was worth respecting. And he was out of the fight now with no way to get back in. It was stupid and he knew it but Adrian was honestly reluctant to just butcher the guy. He deserved something better. Damned if one Lt. Ito could figure out what that better should be but the guy deserved it anyhow.

He turned his suit midair to follow the enemy as the failing mobile armor headed for a landing at what was definitely too high a speed. No, it looked like the Alliance pilot's luck had finally run out. He was only twenty meters above the ground now and still going at over three hundred k. It was going to be fast and messy but it should only last for instants if he hit the ground like this.

And then he saw the canopy fly off and the ejection seat explode upward. Seconds, and a couple hundred meters later, the ship slammed into the rocky ground and huge gouts of smoke and flame covered the area. But his tracking gear had no trouble following the ejection seat and the life signs of the pilot as they sailed clear of the wreckage to land hard but not fatally near the rim of the cliff.

"Well, took care of himself for us." Baki noted bluntly.

"The ship ran out of sky." Adrian agreed truthfully, glad Lon didn't seem to have his own tracking gear turned on.

"I'm heading for the main gate. I always wanted to see what an Earth Alliance main Headquarters looks like."

"All right." Adrian agreed. "I'll just make sure we haven't missed anything here. This isn't a guy we want coming back like a cat with nine lives."

"Suit yourself." Baki replied indifferently as he turned his GUUL toward the broken gate. He did head far enough inland to avoid the battle around the legged ship. Adrian grinned. Trust Lon to go exploring rather than fighting if he could.

Adrian put full braking power on to bring his GINN down safely near the ejection seat, very mindful of the damage to the left leg. The landing was as gentle as he could manage, even so, the suit wobbled ever so slightly. He couldn't be sure if it was from the damage or just the uneven terrain though.

There were no Alliance combat troops or fighter craft in the immediate area so it was safe enough to land. The closest action was all around the legged ship a couple k's up the bay. That fight was drifting his way; he would not have a lot of time here to check things out.

He flipped the magnification up to study the pilot still strapped into the ejection seat. The seat itself was surrounded now by its deflated landing balloons. The Natural had gotten out alive alright, and according to his sensors, pretty much undamaged too. The angle of view wasn't very good. He couldn't see much beyond the left arm and leg. Then they moved. The man was conscious.

Adrian watched closely as the enemy very carefully untangled himself from the safety gear that had saved his life. He pushed the top shock bar up and lifted his helmet off. A wave of blue-black hair cascaded to his shoulders. Slowly and carefully, like it hurt to move, the pilot staggered to his feet, staring at the burning wreckage of his mobile armor and apparently unaware of the massive GINN standing silently behind him. Him? Adrian looked again.

Ah, since when did any guy come with hips like that? Or a sharply defined waist like this Alliance pilot had. And that hair, which fell below the shoulder blades when the pilot stood up, was way too long for any male in the EA to get away with. Adrian Ito felt his jaw go slack. This damn hot shot top gun Natural pilot was a girl?

Then she turned around and saw his GINN. The eyes went wide with shock. Adrian felt like something had just kicked him in the gut. She was beautiful. And it wasn't the designed beauty so common in the Plants either. This was something much older, the unplanned results of genetic accident. Even back home where physical attractiveness was the norm, this girl would catch eyes everywhere she went.

Rich, red-bronze skin. High, wide cheekbones. Pure, vivid emerald eyes. A strong nose and a generous mouth. The heart shaped face came to a neatly rounded point at the end of the rather sharply tapered jaw. She was tall measured against the ejection seat. Probably almost as tall as he was. Lean too. But definitely a girl. Oh yeah, the way she filled out that flight suit; most definitely female. Killing her would be a criminal waste. It required absolutely no imagination to come up with much better things to do with a girl like this.

The ride down happened so fast Kayla didn't have time to be frightened. There was too much to do and too little time to get it all done. The Zero was failing under her as it dropped and was harder and harder to control the closer the ground got. Then the earth was flashing past only yards below. It was time and past time to get out!

The canopy popped immediately as she hit the eject button. The incredible compression of the jets boosting the seat clear of the Zero smashed her body into a tight wad in the bottom of the support harness. Without that harness, the power of the ejection would probably have broken bones. As it was, there were long seconds when no air could enter her lungs because her muscles weren't strong enough to force the lungs open against the pressure. She grayed out as all the blood was driven into the lowest points in her body by the g-forces.

Then there was no pressure at all as she hit the top of the arc and went from crushing pressure to near weightlessness in an instant. Air whooped back into her lungs then and her body straightened abruptly. Now the seat was falling. Instead of being compressed, she was being stretched. Every bone, muscle and nerve protested this abuse. Her head felt like it was going to explode as the blood came roaring back, drawn up by the same kind of g-force that had been pulling it down only moments ago.

There was a vicious slam, then she was bouncing across the landscape. One, two, three, four times the seat and its protective landing balloons smacked into the rocky Alaskan ground. Each hit was softer than the one before it. The forth and last time the seat hit and stuck, rocked savagely for a second before the balloons deflated, then there was one final bump before all motion stopped.

Kayla was dizzy and almost sick. It was easier to let her eyes close than to try to move. The universe got very dark for some unknown time.

It was the sound of a major fire close at hand that caught her attention solidly enough to drag her back to wakefulness. She pried her eyes open and tried to make them focus. The first attempts were questionable in their success but eventually she recognized the rolling clouds of darkness and redness as her burning Zero. A few more blinks and the whole picture came into focus.

Her wrecked ship was a good three hundred yards off. By the look of it, it would burn out very soon now. There really wasn't all that much that was flammable on a space ship. So she'd only been out of it for few minutes at the most or it would already have burned down to near ash. She needed to see if she could stand and if she could walk once she got upright. That fire might attract ZAFT attention. No, it would attract it. The only question was when they would check it out. She didn't want to be here when they arrived. ZAFT didn't often take prisoners. She was down alive, she'd like to stay that way.

Moving _hurt_. It reminded her that ejection was considered a last ditch emergency procedure for a reason. Fortunately the safety harness release was working and it let her out readily. She felt like an arthritic turtle, she was sure she was moving slower than one. Pushing the upper safety bar of the seat back was a challenge. Yet for all that it really only took her a minute or so to get straightened around enough to be able to pull her helmet off.

Oh, did the crisp fresh air feel good! It stank of course. A burning space ship was not a bed of roses. But it was cool, mostly clean, and didn't reek of bad recycler filters. The quality of stenches was all relative after all. She dropped the now useless helmet and used the sturdy frame of the ejection seat to stagger to her feet.

Once on her feet, Kayla could see a bit further. There was no immediate sign of any ZAFT ground units moving in to check on the fire, which was good. There was also no road up here, which was bad. She had nothing with her but the small emergency kit stashed under the seat and the gear she was wearing. Alaska was not a good place even in this day and age for just setting out on a casual cross country hike without a plan and proper equipment.

The height of the cliff she was on let her see a good way. Josh-A was not fully visible, it was at least eight or nine miles off, but it was clear even from this distance that the battle was effectively over. There was almost nothing but ZAFT mobile suits up in the sky anymore. There was a huge column of smoke coming from over near the area where the main gate was so it was probably taken.

There was still a battle raging behind her though. She turned to see who the holdout was, a mental bet giving long odds to it being the _Archangel_. Yeah, the new battleship was still hanging in there. Then something a lot closer registered and she could feel her eyes widening.

A GINN, there was a GINN standing only about twenty yards behind her. Her eyes ran over the battered machine, noting the damage, finally settling on a rather nasty chunk missing from the lower left leg. She swallowed once. Ok, she knew just which GINN this was now. So it was going to be the Elder's kind of day after all.

She didn't run. Maybe she couldn't, maybe she just wouldn't. She did pull herself up to nearly at attention straight and then she just stood there, waiting for him to do whatever he was going to do.

Ok, so, now he had to decide what he was going to do. Captain Thoms would be very, very pissed if he just brought in some Natural prisoner with no better reason than he wanted to. He might understand if he told him all about how skilled a pilot she was. Yeah, and he might enquire why she wasn't already dead if she was that dangerous. Or, Adrian thought very slowly, he could try Grandfather's idea on his Captain.

He stopped himself right there. That, . . . . . . . , was not a good thought. Grandfather's idea of what to do with Naturals was not a civilized thing. Nor did the fact that it had full Council approval make it any better in his mind. Point of fact, that approval made the Supreme Council a whole lot worse in his view.

Uncivilized yes, but it was an idea the Team could go along with. It definitely would keep them from slaughtering the girl out of hand. And, barbaric or not, it was genetically sound. It made a lot more sense than Chairman Zala's utterly wasteful, completely nutso idea of mass genocide did too.

He glanced at the display of the battle around the legged ship just in time to see a GINN finally manage to get set up in front of their bridge. Ah, that was too bad as well in a way. The legged ship's people had been gallant enemies. They would be a real loss in more ways than one.

The bolt that cut the GINN's weapon apart came from directly above it. Adrian's eyes tried to track it but the mobile suit moved too quickly as it raced in, beheading the GINN who's pilot was too slow to react and taking a position directly in front of the legged ship's bridge. Once it stopped moving, he could only stare at it. What the hell was it? And who had built it? He'd never seen a mobile suit like this before!

The mostly white machine had blue wings edged in deep gray that obviously housed weapons, touches of blue and red about the body and limbs and a more of that same deep gray on the torso and knee joint area. A shield was mounted on the left arm. It carried a heavy beam gun in the right hand. It was a gorgeous thing. It was armed to the teeth too if his sensors weren't lying.

Then it shot up above the legged ship, paused and fired. Adrian stared in shock. How many weapons had it fired simultaneously? At least three major beam/energy weapons on both side! And unless he was reading everything dead wrong, every shot had hit! What the hell was this thing? And who the hell had the skill to fly it? It was defending the legged ship, so it had to be an EA suit, but where and how had the Naturals ever built one with capabilities like this?

His headset suddenly crackled to life. A youthful but very determined voice rang in his ears.

"Attention ZAFT and Earth Alliance forces! Any moment now the Cyclops system will activate and the Alaska base will self-destruct! Both sides, please cease firing and withdraw from this area immediately! I repeat, the Cyclops system will activate and the base will self-destruct. Both sides, cease firing and withdraw immediately!"

Adrian Ito suddenly couldn't breath. He could see the whole logic instantly. They had already withdrawn the best of their troops and the majority of their equipment from the area to Panama. What was here, with the exception of the legged ship and individual soldiers like the Zero pilot, were all older forces with outdated gear. Troops a callous commander who thought only in terms of how many enemies he could kill would consider readily expendable. Blue Cosmos made most of the decisions for the Atlantic Federation now; everyone knew it. They were rabid dogs. They would spend whatever and whoever they had to kill Coordinators.

He looked back at the girl. She was gaping at the new mobile suit. He couldn't blame her for that. A Cyclops bomb, he shook his head, unsure if he was more mad or scared. That could destroy an area many kilometers across. He looked at the girl again, struck once more by her beauty. Damn it! Her bastard commanders weren't killing this one!


	3. Chapter 3

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknowledged but off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

The GINN powered up instantly. Adrian reached swiftly with the right arm and snatched up the girl before she realized what he was doing. He popped his hatch. He couldn't just drag her through the air in the GINN's hand, she'd freeze to death. He was going to have to bring her inside, although he doubted she'd agree to come.

He launched as he brought the right hand firmly against his open cockpit. Now, despite the wind, he wasn't going to fall out and neither was she. He took a few seconds to set an autopilot course directly away from Josh-A before he unbuckled his harness to see about getting an uncooperative enemy into his mobile suit.

She was fighting the grip of the suit's hand all right. He had been right to tighten it down to nearly crushing pressure. She'd have been loose if he hadn't. As it was, she was going to have that left hand of hers free in a few seconds. He didn't want to have to deal with her waving a gun in his face if she could get one out as well so he slid out onto the cockpit's lower hatch and grabbed her arm just before she worked it free.

"Ah, shit!" she shrieked.

Adrian sympathized but held on with an iron grip. This was no office clerk with soft hands and softer muscles. This was a soldier with an arm that felt like solid fiber bands. She'd kill him if he gave her the chance.

He slid his right hand up the back of her neck until he found the right pressure points just below the skull. Then he squeezed as carefully as her struggling allowed. She knew what he was doing all right. She threw her head back repeatedly, trying to break his hold. But he had better leverage than she did. And he was the Coordinator; he was by far the stronger. He forced her head forward against the palm of his GINN's hand and held on until the pressure on the nerves rendered her unconscious. Then he held on another few seconds to be sure she was really out.

He reached back and loosened the machine's grip just enough to enable himself to work her body free. She was a limp, dead weight in his grasp, which was no help in doing this, but at least she wasn't either fighting or trying to kill him. He worked as fast as he could. It was cold with the cockpit open like this! Then he had her out; he slid back into his seat, fastened his harness, and dragged her onto his lap. Finally, he closed the hatch. He immediately felt much warmer.

A glance at the display showed him that he was running parallel to the legged ship, about half a kilometer off their port. No one there was shooting at him at the moment. More importantly, there was a rising wall of energy and debris coming up fast behind them. Oh, hell, there really was a Cyclops!

He grabbed the controls and demanded every scrap of speed the GINN had to give. At this instant he regretted dumping his own GUUL when he'd begun pursuit of the Zero. It would have had the extra flat line racing speed he could have used right now! The suit surged ahead, beginning to outrun the legged ship for a moment. Then they hit their engines for what was likely all they could give as well and Adrian found they were now pulling up, then ahead of him. He could see the new mobile suit a bit behind him and well to starboard of the enemy ship. It was almost engulfed by the expanding energy front of the Cyclops when he saw it catch hold of a GINN that hadn't been able to run fast enough and drag the damaged machine to safety. Wait, wasn't it an EA suit? Why had it just saved a ZAFT pilot?

Confused now, Adrian tried to keep half an eye on the enemy battleship and the strange mobile suit. The other half eye was locked firmly on the advancing energy front of the Cyclops damage zone. It was five minutes before he was sure he was really going to outrun it. It was nearly twenty before he knew he'd gone far enough to be able to stop and ride out the weakened blast front. He'd lost exact track of the legged ship sometime around minute fourteen but he had their heading; he could find them.

The shock wave from the Cyclops blast was still brutal, even at this distance. The GINN was tossed around the sky like a child's kite in a high wind. Adrian had his hands full maintaining control of the suit; he didn't have a hand to spare to hold on to the girl. She got bounced pretty badly. At least he didn't lose her altogether and dump her on the floor or let her crack her skull on any of the control panels. Still, they were both going to be sporting a fine set of bruises from this.

The air behind the shock front was still unsettled but it was not so unstable that the GINN couldn't deal with it on autopilot. A mobile suit was a massive machine with tremendous inertia after all; it took something significant in the way of atmospheric disturbance to seriously unbalance one. It also ate power and he'd been either in heavy combat or running for his life for well over half an hour now. He needed to do a thorough systems check to see what he had left, find his base carrier, and get out of this sky.

Power was the first and most pressing question. He was barely ok there. He had nothing to waste, almost no margin at all, but he should have enough to get home safely. Now he was very glad indeed that he'd been so conservative with his weapons earlier, taking only the most high probability shots to stretch his munitions and beam weapon's endurance.

Second on his list of things that mattered was finding the carrier the Thoms Team was based on. That proved a bit harder. He was forced to go up a good way to clear a couple of local islands before he picked up their rider signal.

Adrian was shocked to find his hands shaking when he heard that directional signal in his ears again. Only then did he realize how afraid he'd been that the carrier had been too close to Josh-A, that there was no place for him to land. But they were well away from the burning ruin, a good thirty kilometers due west of him right now, at least a straight liner fifty from Josh-A. He wondered just what instinct had sent Captain Ponchard so far from the battlefield and the mobile suits that could be expected to need close support during the fight.

An alert from his combat array focused his eyes on a stray speck well below his position. Magnification showed him an empty GUUL. Well, that could be useful! He didn't like the things but if it had even a few k's worth of power left if it, it would give his suit the margin of safety he so lacked right now. Besides, it would let him land and lift again without stressing the bad leg of the suit. He let the GINN drop toward it.

The girl on his lap shifted slightly. Oh, no, he didn't need her waking up now. He slowed his decent so he could manage the suit with one hand while he used the other to put her out again. This was not going to be something he should keep up too long. He could do permanent damage pressing on the nerves like this. He needed another way to keep her out of trouble. But for the moment, this was all he had time for. So he held on until she was completely limp in his arms again and a few seconds more to make sure she stayed that way for a while.

The landing on the GUUL went smoothly. The machine proved to be down to about one third power. If he was reasonable about it and didn't have to try to move at combat speeds, it should get him home with a little energy to spare. He ran a check on the wind conditions and took the machine down to less than a hundred meters above the sea. This was the calmest layer of the atmosphere right now; he would use the least energy moving here.

It was rather eerie traveling like this. He was alone in the sky at the moment. He still had his channels open and could hear other ZAFT units around him but he couldn't see them. There had been a massive force here only twenty minutes ago. Where had all their people gone?

As Adrian listened he began to grasp the size of the disaster behind him. Most of the communications he heard came from the carriers. They were calling for the mobile suits and the armored strike teams they had landed at Josh-A. They weren't getting many answers. Space based command was calling for the attack subs; silence was their only reply.

If they were lucky, they had lost at least half their attacking force. Somehow, Lt. Ito didn't think they had been very lucky. There was too much silence. There were too many ships that were not responding, too many units that were out of contact. "Operation Spit Break", this much anticipated victory, was looking more and more like a murderous defeat.

Yes, the Earth Alliance had lost a major base. But when all was said and done, they could afford it. Their population was many times that of the Plants. They could lose six to one in an exchange like this and it would be their victory. They could replace their combat troops and even re-supply with new equipment. ZAFT didn't have anything like the Earth's depth of people power or manufacturing capability. His people depended on superior equipment and their innate superior abilities to win. Neither mattered if the EA could sucker them into traps like this one.

He looked at the unconscious girl in his lap again. They were losing a generation to this war; most of one at any rate. Grandfather's plan might be barbaric but it might be the difference between survival and extinction too. God, what a horrible thought that was! Yet the Ito Plan was absolutely sound if you considered it from a standpoint of genetics alone. It only became a monster when you added ethics.

There was an island ahead of him. He brought the GUUL down to beach level and landed. He needed to secure his prisoner and it would be safer to do that if the GINN was not moving. It was unlikely there were any Earth forces left out here but it couldn't be ruled out. The legged ship and that amazing mobile suit had been headed more or less out this way when he'd lost track of them. Adrian had no delusions about being able to take on that suit with his GINN alone and the legged ship had defied every attempt to sink it. One lone GINN wasn't likely to manage that either.

The cockpit of a GINN had a singular lack of suitable materials for securing captives. Since he wasn't supposed to be taking any, this really wasn't any big surprise or anything but it was annoying. In the end, he found himself scavenging in the medical kit. This was pretty much what he'd suspected he was going to have to do all along.

The sheer quantity of bandaging he found was actually a bit disturbing. Just how banged up did the people who stocked these kits think a mobile suit pilot could get and still be able to treat his own wounds? Or did they actually anticipate someone really needing to tie up a prisoner on occasion? Whatever, they definitely packed enough material for that job and a major trauma as well.

She had long, slender hands but the bones were larger than he'd been expecting. The wrists had a definite bulge and that could be useful. When he was done, she was not going to be slipping those bindings over her hands to get free. And he'd left her a bit of movement by running the connecting strip through her belt loops. This held the hands apart so there would be no chance of her untying anything either.

Her ankles proved to be build much like her wrists; making hobbling her relatively easy even over the bulk of a flight suit. Well, easy once you got around the awkwardness of working in this cramped space with an unconscious woman in your lap that was. As extra protection, he also ran a loop and line between her elbows as well; securing it through belt loops too. Now there was no chance she would be able to get her hands or arms loose at all. He hadn't forgotten the strength in the arm she'd so nearly gotten free when he'd hauled her up to the cockpit. Yeah, she was a stunning girl all right, but that didn't mean she was a safe one to be around.

His prisoner attended to, Adrian brought the GUUL up a bit and headed around the near end of the island. His carrier was less that twenty kilometers and perhaps fifteen minutes at the most power conserving speed away now, he was getting anxious to get back to something that felt more like safety. He cleared the point only to have a half dozen alarms go off.

On his port side, less than two hundred meters away, was the legged ship. The new mobile suit was moving toward it. And a headless GINN was kneeling on a sand dune between his position and the enemy ship; a GINN with very familiar unit markings.

"Baki?" Adrian called without thinking. "Baki! Answer me!"

"If he was the pilot of the GINN," a voice said quietly, "he died. I tried; I caught the GINN at the edge of the blast front as it was breaking up and brought it here. He was alive when I got him out of the cockpit. But he died before anyone from the _Archangel_'s medical team could get to him."

"Lon, . . . ."

"This is Captain Murrue Ramius of the _Archangel_. ZAFT GINN, what are your intentions?" A woman's voice, sharp with demand.

"Intentions?" Adrian muttered. "I don't think I have anything so thought out as intentions."

The _Archangel_ apparently had very good reception equipment as there was a small pause, then her Captain spoke again, much more gently this time. "Do you plan to continue the battle here?"

"What, with one GINN against you and that insane mobile suit? I'm crazy lady, but I'm not nuts! I saw that thing fire back at Josh-A. I've never seen anything like it before and I hope never to see it again!"

The words were out before he realized he'd even spoken. It was not a truth he'd really wanted them to know. Bit late for that now. With that thought, Adrian tossed caution and diplomacy to the winds and blurted out the rest of his questions.

"What is that thing? Where did it come from? Who the hell is good enough to pilot something like that?"

"This is the X10A Freedom." The same young voice that had told him of Lon's death answered. "It was given to me by a friend, someone who wants it known that from now on she will be singing the song of peace. I'm not sure you really need my name."

The designation, especially the X number, made Adrian take a much longer, much more magnified look at this 'Freedom'. What he saw startled him. The design characteristics were unmistakable.

"That was built by ZAFT!"

"Yes." Freedom's pilot agreed. "And someone with a very strong love of Plant and an abiding hate of war gave it to me."

"To use against ZAFT? What kind of love of Plant is that?" Adrian shouted.

"What are you fighting for GINN? To destroy all Naturals as Chairman Zala orders? Revenge for Bloody Valentine? How do you decide when the war should end?"

"What?" Now he was confused. This guy was making no sense at all!

"Think about it! What are you, yourself, fighting for? What are your goals in this war? And how will you know when it should end? Because if you can't answer any of those questions, then you are nothing more than a tool for those who in power who can."

"My name is Lt. Adrian Ito, not GINN!" He snapped. "And I'm in this war because out of a family of twenty six, there are now only three left. Everyone else was home, on Junius Seven, when the nukes arrived! Why the hell do you think I'm here?"

"That's not what I asked you. You told me your motive Lt. Ito. But what do you want the war to do about that motive?"

"Make it never happen again." Adrian whispered.

"So, you do know what you're fighting for." The other said quietly. "Now, do you know if you will recognize the moment when that goal has been achieved?"

He sat silently for some minutes. The legged ship and the Freedom left him alone with his black thoughts. When he looked up again, Freedom was nowhere to be seen and _Archangel_ was swinging out to sea. He looked at the headless GINN and realized he had one more question for these most odd enemies.

"Before you go, may I have Lon's body? So his family can bury him."

"Of course, Lt." The voice was Captain Ramius. "You will find him in a preservation body bag on the lower hatch of his GINN. We felt it best to put him out of the reach of scavengers yet somewhere his own would find him."

"Thank you, Captain."

He watched them move around the nearest point and disappear from his line of sight. He should try to track them but at the moment, he didn't have the heart for it. The GUUL glided over the sand and he found the body bag just where Captain Ramius said it would be. With a careful touch, he gently coaxed it off the hatch and into his suit's left hand. He closed the hand with great care. He had had enough of this place and this battle.

As he prepared to launch he noticed an indicator on his cockpit med-scanner. So, one battle over and another ready to start. He made what he knew could turn out to be a very stupid decision and pulled his helmet off. Some communications were easier without it. He took the GUUL up and headed for the carrier.


	4. Chapter 4

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknowledged but off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

Waking up had come with some very unpleasant surprises. Years of training with Grandmother Spotted Horse enabled Kayla to maintain both a limpness of body and a gentleness of breathing typical of the unconscious. Because one of the first things she understood was a voice nearly shouting "My name is Lt. Adrian Ito, not GINN!"

The man was distracted enough not to notice her very, very cautious testing that told her she was quite well secured. Once she had established that the bonds were not going to be easily shed, she quit all efforts to do so. Ito was a ZAFT officer, a Coordinator. Unless she could hit him hard, fast, and by complete surprise, he was going to win any fight she started. She was too well tied up to achieve surprise; she'd lose before she began under these circumstances.

She had no idea who he was talking to other than they had to be Earth Forces. It was a strange conversation but not one to suggest she'd get any support if she let them know he was holding her either. Whoever it was, they had a real gift for psych warfare. She was sitting on Ito's lap; she could feel just how badly the words the stranger spoke hit him. And how much being permitted to pick up his friend's body meant to him.

And some damn fools tried to claim Coordinators weren't human! Ha! They were just as human as the next guy. Their behavior proved it all the time; both the positive and the negative behaviors! At the moment, this Ito reminded her of Jimmy Stoltz, the teammate who had brought her brother Paul home to her family so they too could bury a brother and a son. The memory sent a shiver through her that she instantly fought to suppress.

Kayla let her eyes crack open just enough to make out what was in front of her. Most of her line of sight was occupied by a lean, muscular looking arm in a green ZAFT flight suit. There was the armrest of the pilot's seat and unknown control panels beyond that. She could see part of one view screen that had nothing but green shapes on it. It took her a few moments study to realize this was the other mobile suit, the one his friend was laying on, and she was seeing it in magnified close-ups.

The view abruptly backed out and judging by the movement in the cockpit, the GINN did too. Now she saw sand, sea, sky, and about half of a severely damaged, headless GINN. Yeah, if the other guy had been in that it was no surprise he hadn't survived. Something had stressed all the joints and seams on the machine nearly to complete separation. It was a wonder it hadn't fallen apart.

Then gravity was loading her down a bit and she knew the GINN was heading up and out. The sand and sea vanished almost immediately, leaving only sky. Interestingly, it was a very empty sky. Where were all the rest of the ZAFT assault forces? She continued to watch as time went by but the viewplate stayed empty of all human built devices.

"So, are you ready to admit you're awake?"

Kayla almost jumped when Ito suddenly spoke. His voice was so clear, he must have his helmet off. But she managed to control it, to stay limp and quite on his lap. It was as good an answer as she was going to give him.

"You should know, I've got a med scanner in here. It picked up your change in heart rate a while ago. Your real good at faking it but you don't seem to be able to do much about your heartbeat. It just gave a nifty spike a second ago too. And it's speeding up a bit as you're listening to me right now."

Oh shit. He dropped his left arm a bit and let her see the med-screen. He wasn't lying. She could see for herself that it was reading two heartbeats, two rates of respiration, two blood pressures. And both of them were solidly inside the range of conscious people.

"Sit up." Ito ordered. "There is some data you need to see."

Should she? Kayla wasn't sure. But Ito was and when she didn't move fast enough, he took both hands off his controls briefly to lift her slightly and turn her so she was facing forward. Instead, she twisted around to look at him.

Whoa! They bred them handsome in the Plants. She'd noticed that before when escorting the rare prisoner or, more commonly, helping collect the dead from the battlefields of space or the moon. This Ito was no exception.

The just shoulder length hair was a rich mahogany, not a color you'd find on a normal human but definitely one you'd find a topflight salon trying to duplicate. His eyes, well, best color match there would be high quality Baltic amber. As his name suggested, there was a good deal of Oriental in him. It was most obvious in the shape of those amazing amber eyes and the wide but fairly flat cheekbones. The nose was straight and the mouth strong. The jaw, a bit tight at the moment, was well shaped and gave good definition to his oval face. He was a bit darker than any Oriental she'd ever seen before but then, Coordinators tinkered with their genes. Or he could just have one damn fine tan. The shoulders were well proportioned to the body and the flight suit indicated muscle, not fat beneath it.

"So, done staring?" He asked with open amusement.

He thought this funny did he? There was a cure for that. Having her feet tied limited her a lot but she was still able to toss herself a few inches in the air. And she made sure she came down, hipbone first, right where no guy wants any girl landing with a hard object.

"Shit!"

He had Coordinator reflexes all right. He'd gotten one hand off the controls and under her. She didn't hit what she aimed at with anything like the force intended. Still, she hit cleanly enough to wipe the amusement off that handsome face.

"You _will_ respect me, ZAFT-man. I am not a joke." She hissed at him.

The amber eyes had gone stone cold. "Two DINNs and a pair of GINNs with a Zero? No, you're no joke."

"Three DINNs." Kayla corrected. "You must have missed my exit from the hanger. I had this obstruction in the doorway to clear you see."

"Five? That's quite a claim."

"Target saturated environment." She said bleakly. "It was hard to miss hitting _something_ if I fired at all."

"Ah, yeah, it would have been from your viewpoint." He agreed grimly.

After a couple moments he spoke again. "All right, let's try this again. I won't treat you as a joke ok? And you won't try hitting me like that again, also ok? Because I haven't done you any favors by picking you up today. And you need to watch this to understand why. If you want to survive, pay attention. This will be going in fast forward through most of it. I'll slow it to real-time for the important sections. So let me turn you around again and just sit quietly this time."

He picked her up carefully and set her in place with rather exaggerated care. The last thing she remembered was a strange mobile suit defending the _Archangel_ with a fantastic display of power. Yet when she woke up, the _Archangel_ and that mobile suit were willing to just talk to a lone GINN. And the sky was empty of EA and ZAFT alike. Something drastic had happened. He was willing to show her, and she wanted to see.

So she watched her Zero take the hits that brought it down from his point of view. And discovered in doing so that Ito was the one who had finally managed to get the targeting lock that shot her down. Somehow it didn't surprise her. Watching her ship crash in fast forward was almost more frightening than it had been while it had been happening.

The recording went to real-time for the arrival of the strange mobile suit and its rescue of the _Archangel_. But it was the warning of the Cyclops bomb that nearly stopped her heart. Ito left it in real-time for the beginning of the bomb's explosion and the expansion of the ring of total destruction, then he kicked it back to fast forward.

She saw herself snatched up by the GINN only seconds before it launched to escape the blast front. She didn't bother to watch the failed fight at the cockpit hatch; what was happening behind the machine as the blast expanded grabbed and held her attention. Ito magnified that part too. You could see the machines just blowing apart as the shock wave hit them. The destruction was immediate and total. Nothing it touched survived. What was left of the Eurasian fleet was obliterated. And so was every single ZAFT unit caught inside the explosively expanding circle. The sea spouted great gouts of water as it proved able to destroy submerged ships as well.

When Ito finally stopped the recording, there was almost nothing left of the ZAFT attacking force. The Alliance forces were gone altogether except for _Archangel_ and that new mobile suit. An immense column of smoke, ash, and fine debris was climbing in a roaring rocket into the formerly pure sky, feeding a growing mushroom cloud that dwarfed all previous nuclear blasts in Earth history.

"Bait." Kayla whispered.

"Very effective bait." Her captor agreed grimly. "And my people are coming down off the first shock now, sliding into rage."

"How many of our own did those stinking bastards murder for this?"

"No idea. Nor will most of ZAFT give a damn."

"I GIVE A DAMN!" She twisted around and screamed in his face. "THEY SOLD US! THEY SOLD US LIKE SHEEP AND RAN OUT ON US! YOU BET YOUR ASS I GIVE A DAMN!"

Those emerald eyes were incredible. Lit with rage and pain, they were twin points of living fire. If any of those responsible for the mass murders back there at Josh-A ever crossed this girl's path, they were dead meat. She would not forget and she might never forgive.

She twisted back around to face the screen again, trembling like a leaf with emotions overrunning body and mind. With no warning, she threw herself back against him and just screamed. The sound filled the cockpit, obliterating all other sound, drowning the very thoughts in his mind. It was pain, it was wrath, it was grief, it was a soul betrayed. It resonated through _his_ soul, lancing some canker of pain he hadn't realized he had growing there. And it seemed to go on for hours.

Eventually, she ran out of air in those powerful lungs. The sound ended. The girl sobbed once, then slid limply back into his lap into much the same position she'd been in most of the trip. He checked the med-scanner. It said overstressed but not endangered body, temporary emotional collapse and semi-consciousness. He realized he had tears running down his cheeks and wished he could just pass out too.

"Incoming GINN, this is the _Ballard_. Identify yourself. I repeat, identify yourself immediately." The voice crackled thinly up from his helmet resting against the control board beside him.

Adrian looked up, blinking the tears out of his eyes. The carrier was sitting on the surface perhaps two kilometers ahead. He was almost home. He grabbed his helmet and jammed it back on.

"_Ballard_, this is Thoms Four. I repeat, this is Thoms Four. I'm returning with one casualty and one Ito Plan prisoner/candidate."

"Roger, Thoms Four, one casualty and one, . . . . . . , what?"

He didn't blame the communications tech. The Ito Plan might have Council approval but it did not have much in the way of Council publicity. What little there had been trickling out to the troops on the lines, and in a position to find and bring in suitable prisoners, had dried up completely when Patrick Zala had been elected Chairman.

A visual overlay abruptly popped up on his main screen. Captain Lance Thoms was glaring at him. Oh and now the fun started.

"I hope that last was some kind of very inappropriate joke, Ito."

"No sir."

"You stopped, in the middle of "Operation Spit Break", to pick up some Natural girl who caught your eye?" There was a very dangerous edge to his commander's voice.

"No sir, I did not. I shot down an amazingly skilled Zero pilot and she turned out to be someone who matches Grandfather's spec's almost perfectly. He's been after me to find a candidate forever. I grabbed her up just as the Cyclops bomb went off."

Captain Thoms put the data together with his usual remarkable speed. One eyebrow went up, a sure sign of intense interest. The anger had vanished.

"This is the same Zero pilot who took Holman and Lubbek out?"

"Yes sir."

"Uhmm, I'll meet you in the hanger. Thoms out."

One hurdle past. The Captain wasn't going to toss the girl over the side without checking her out. This would include a thorough review of his combat records for the whole of "Spit Break". Adrian couldn't help but wonder what Thoms would make of his encounter with the Freedom and the legged ship. That had been a very unsettling meeting. He hoped the older man would have some advice for him after he'd looked the data over.

The girl shuddered, shifted slightly as she came out of her daze, then began to slide off his lap. She hissed softly and tried to push herself up. The GUUL was settling into the tube; Adrian could spare the hand, and since she was pushing against him it would be more comfortable anyway, so he grabbed her belt and lifted her back until she was sitting squarely in his lap again. She accepted the help without comment.

The back mounted life support unit of the flight suit was in the way but still and all, she was a very pleasant armful. Even in full combat gear she wasn't all that heavy. The curves were all in the right places and nothing was either overdone or shorted. Whatever she used on her hair had left it with a light floral scent that he could pick up even with a flight helmet on – once he'd opened the filters that was.

She wasn't very soft though. Oh, her skin was soft, a wonderful, silken thing to touch. But under that beautiful skin was lean, rock solid muscle and very sturdy bone. He had learned that much when he'd opened her flight suit to search for her id tags. He'd checked a bit more than strictly necessary at that point perhaps – eh, be honest with yourself here Adrian, there was no 'perhaps' about it! - but he hadn't actually removed any clothing to do it so he was inside the law when it came to treatment of prisoners. _He_ wasn't responsible for what Earth Alliance female pilots chose to wear, or in this case, not to wear, under their flight suits. The id tags were now in the pocket of his flight suit.

They were in the main hanger now. If he'd needed proof that "Spit Break" was a disaster, it was all around him now. Rank after rank of mobile suit stands were empty or held one or two suits. The majority of those that had made it back were damaged, most far more severely than his own unit.

He was walking the suit back to the section reserved for the Thoms team slowly and carefully to keep the pressure on the damaged leg to a minimum. The pace let him see everything with pitiless clarity. No more than twenty percent had made it home.

"This is bad." She said quietly. "This will set you guys off like nobody's business. You've never been big on taking prisoners at the best of times. If this is what it's like everywhere, you aren't going to even think about accepting surrenders next fight. This is getting so damn genocidal all the way around!"

"You're right." Adrian agreed just as quietly. "Remember that insight if you want to survive here. I've put you in a very special category, one that should keep you alive and untouchable until you get up to the Plants, but you aren't going to like it. Just think about the alternatives before you open your mouth, eh?"

Sharp green eyes were suddenly staring into his as she twisted around to glare at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll learn all the grubby details soon enough. In the mean time, keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. No one is going expect you to be happy to be here. They will, however, demand that you keep quiet about it."

She was sitting on his lap. No way was he going into detail on the Ito Plan with her there! She might be tied up but this girl had already demonstrated far too much ingenuity in destruction for him to even consider that risk! A flight suit offered considerable protection but not absolute protection, especially not where it counted with an enraged female. She'd confirmed that once already. And he had no doubts about the enraged part when she learned the whole story.

He reached his suit rack with relief. There was a med team waiting quietly with a gurney beside his place. He bent the GINN no further than absolutely necessary to put Lon Baki's body at an easy to reach level for them. Even with that care, everyone could hear the creak of metal in the damaged leg as too much weight came on it at the wrong angle.

While he could see the questions the Earth Forces body bag immediately brought to every face, no one wasted a moment getting Lon off the GINN's hand. Adrian straightened his mobile suit very carefully and stepped back into its rack. Heavy support members closed around the suit at once, securing it and making sure it was no longer in any danger of falling.

"We've arrived." He told the girl grimly. "I can't say this often enough; keep your mouth shut if you want to live."

"Yeah, I understand." She replied. "I'll study the situation and decide if it's worth it before I say anything."

"Excuse me? You'll do what?"

She half turned to look at him out of one cold gem eye. "Ito, the price of survival can get too high. That's a fact you will do well to remember too."

He went through the drill of shutting down the GINN very thoughtfully. It didn't take long and he came to no conclusions by the end of it, just a realization he was going to have to do more thinking. She was more than he'd expected. Her attitude, her mindset, these were typical of real veterans. He hadn't thought she was that old. There was a maturity here that went much deeper than the age her face implied. She was far more dangerous in many more ways than he'd ever considered when he'd captured her on impulse.

Someone suddenly pounded on the hatch. Ah, must have the foot gantry in place. It was time to get out and face everybody. He reached over to pull the combat recorder's data disk out before he did anything else. Captain Thoms was going to want that immediately if not sooner.

He popped the hatch. Captain Thoms and a pair of armed guards were standing on the gantry waiting for the two of them. It was only then that Adrian realized that while he'd gotten the girl into the GINN unaided, he was probably going to need help to get her out if he didn't want to bang her up pretty badly.

"My, that looks cozy."

He winced, the sarcasm cut like a knife. It was meant to. His commanding officer was not happy with him.

"What is, sir, is jammed." Adrian said as evenly as he could. "The Lt. here is a skilled enemy combat officer and I have taken precautions in securing her. It does leave me with a problem getting her out though as she is in no position to help her self."

"You actually worry about a Natural girl?" The amusement had a nasty undertone and it wasn't coming from the Captain. So Trace Holman had made it home already. Shit. This he could have done without.

Then his teammate's over refined face appeared in the hatch. The expression in his eyes went greedy as he got a good look at Adrian's prisoner. Without waiting for permission from Captain Thoms or Adrian as the official captor, he reached in and grabbed the girl's bound ankles. One vicious jerk later she was laying flat on her back on the lower hatch with Trace leaning over her, one hand supporting him against the upper hatch and the other taking very indecent liberties with her body.

"Well, well. Who'd ever have expected dull old Ito to bring us any entertainment? Oh, yeah, you'll entertain the whole ship, won't you, you dirty little Natural whore."

"Holman!" Thoms snapped.

Adrian was out of his harness and lunging forward when the girl took matters into her own hands. Her knees came up and she kicked out with a speed to rival any Coordinator. She caught Trace just above the critical zone with both booted feet and serious power. He folded over her.

Her strike drove him back so that his face passed over her hands as he shot toward the gantry rail. Both hands turned up and ten surprisingly sharp nails raked that face as it went by. The force of her kick shot her body back into Adrian as he charged forward. The jarring blow as they met made him into a backstop for her, enabling her to put still more power into the end of the kick.

Captain Thoms grabbed the GINN's landing rope with one hand and his abused subordinate with the other. Only his fast action prevented Holman from going straight back over the gantry rail to the deck nearly twelve meters below. As it was, the man teetered on the top rail for several seconds before his commander could get the proper leverage to pull him back.

Thoms gave Holman a quick once over before he turned and shouted to the med team below. "Get another gurney and a second team up here on the double! Get this idiot to sick bay as fast as you can! And you don't have to be gentle about it either. Anyone this stupid deserves the pain. It's the only thing that can teach them not to do something like it again."

Adrian shook the girl hard. "You idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get shot?"

She turned the same single cold gem eye on him again. "Were you paying any attention to what I told you about the price of survival? Well, that bastard's is too high, you got that?"

"Uhmm." Adrian looked up to find Captain Thoms studying his prisoner with speculative interest. "I begin to see why you thought she meets your grandfather's specs."

The Captain focused on the girl, who if the tightening of her shoulders was any indication, didn't care for being the object of his consideration. The staring contest, if that was what it was, ran for a couple of minutes. It ended with one of Thom's enigmatic little smiles that told you absolutely nothing of what he was thinking.

"All right, Lieutenant. I will cut these hobbles if and only if you will give me your word that there will be no more demonstrations of your fighting style between here and medical. Refuse and you will ride there secured on a gurney. You tell me which it will be."

She sniffed at him. "Your attack dogs stay leashed and there won't be any need for a demo Captain. I will not pledge not to defend myself. I will agree not to attack anyone. You tell me if that meets your requirements."

After several seconds of silent study, the Captain nodded. She nodded back. Thoms whipped a fighting knife out of who knew where and slashed twice. The carefully constructed hobbles fell off, leaving the boots under them completely unmarked by the passing blade. Adrian let himself breathe again. The Captain led and the two guards followed as the five of them made their way to sick bay.

The hostility around her was heavy enough to slice and serve for dinner. Kayla kept her head up and her eyes to the front as she followed the nearly metallic bronze haired Captain with the deep amethyst eyes. This was not the place to be glancing around and catch the wrong man's attention. Ito's warning had been fair, the ZAFT personnel were still pretty much in shock but where shock was wearing off, anger was replacing it. She'd taken down that one fool at the GINN's hatch only because he came after her with such towering overconfidence. If he'd been watching at all, she'd never have managed it. She cherished no delusions about doing again.

Every bone and muscle and nerve hurt. First there had been the stress of high intensity combat. Then she'd had to eject in the bottom of a gravity well. After that she'd spent an unknown amount of time tied up and held in basically one position. Her body had gotten over-heated fighting, over-stressed in the emergency ejection, and had set like concrete sitting cramped in the GINN. Walking was an exercise in pain. But she wasn't going to let these damned Coordinators know that.

So she strove to move smoothly, as though everything was normal. She made herself take a full stride each and every step. And she did not even consider asking them to slow down. Nor did she allow herself to make one sound.

She could not see herself. So she was unaware of how pale she was. Nor did she know how tightly she was holding her mouth. She didn't know she was favoring her right leg slightly. But the Coordinators around her saw it. Some could even yet let themselves recognize bravery in an enemy. She won no hearts but she made no new enemies either. And on the _Ballard_ that day, that was a remarkable performance for a Natural prisoner of war.


	5. Chapter 5

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknowledged but off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

Lieutenant Kayla Grayhawk. Lance Thoms watched the recording from Ito's GINN for the fifth time. The boy had found himself quite a girl here. She was every bit as good a fighter as Ito said she was. She thought fast, took advantage of every opportunity offered, and got more out of that Zero than its designers had put into it. It was almost inspirational, watching someone this good. There was something oddly familiar about it too but he couldn't put his finger on it. He just filed it in the back of his mind. It would surface eventually.

Ito's performance was a beautiful thing to watch as well. He was getting better all the time. This could be the final report needed to put him over the bar and secure his advancement to the Elites. It was obvious from the very first that he was going for a prisoner, and by god, he got one. Holman getting himself shot down just made such a perfect contrast to Ito's skilled performance; he couldn't have helped his rival more if he'd planned it out. It would be just as well to keep this record private as far as the Team was concerned. Holman didn't need to see this and he didn't need the internal trouble it would cause with the Team if the man did.

Lance did hope the review board would miss a few things about this performance though. Ito was something of an idealistic idiot. He still believed in the concept of chivalry. He'd had at least three clean chances to kill her there towards the end of the chase and he'd passed them all up. Because he didn't want to do it. Because he respected this kind of enemy. Boy was going to get himself slaughtered some day letting the wrong one survive. It would be a good thing if the board didn't notice that.

He picked up the preliminary report from medical. Idealist or not, Ito had a good eye for fine genetics. Probably inherited that from his grandfather. Dr. Roland Ito was one of the top twenty geneticists in the Plants. His Plan, while not popular with the current powers that be, did have the backing of eighteen of the other top twenty. And his grandson had definitely found a leading candidate for it today.

Of course, they would only know for sure if she was actually as good as she looked when they got her up to Aprilius. The testing the medlab here could do was preliminary at best. But my, my, the numbers did look prime. Family had been doing some genetic cleanup on itself for a couple generations by the look of it. She definitely was a Natural but she had some very Coordinator characteristics already due to that work.

He understood her startling reflexes now and her striking turn of speed. She wasn't enhanced like a Coordinator but she was completely unhampered by any readily detectable genetic defects. She was the best a Natural could be, and that was surprisingly impressive.

Thoms wondered how many Naturals were very quietly doing this same kind of cleanup on their genetics. Even Blue Cosmos accepted genetic manipulation to cure disease or prevent physical defects. As long as nothing was being added, a family could actually improve themselves a lot just by editing out the damaged materials that had collected in their genome over the history of the human species. Lieutenant Grayhawk was a very pointed lesson for the Plants in just what the Naturals could become, yet remain truly Naturals.

She certainly made the gap between them a lot narrower than it was generally thought to be. If she did, so would any other Natural whose genes were similarly clean. The lead Coordinators held over the Naturals, the lead that let their much smaller population stand up to the Earth Forces in this war, that lead would vanish if there were enough Naturals like the Grayhawk girl.

Captain Thoms leaned back wearily. He really didn't need this right now. Not on top of the disaster "Operation Spit Break" had turned into. But the data on the girl and her potential now sat on his desk like an unexploded bomb. Someone was going to have to deal with it and do it soon. The Plants could not afford to be blindsided by this.

He sighed. He was putting off the inevitable for no useful reason. With so many lost, there was turmoil in the ranks above him. Communications were going directly between offices usually separated by several layers of command structure. He would never have a better chance to get this where it had to go to be seen and understood by the people who could do something about it.

He set about making several copies of the data and the combat log from Ito's GINN. Each set was packaged and mailed out as soon as it was finished. He wouldn't have the luxury of dozens of flights between the shrunken fleet and Carpentaria Base for very long; best make use of it while it lasted.

As the last one went out, he wondered what Council member Eileen Canaver was going to make of this unsolicited transmission from the front lines. He was presuming a great deal on his mother's friendship with the lady in sending it. Yet while the others he had sent would reach people of considerable academic weight, she was the only political figure he had even the faintest connection to. And this was going to involve politics even more than genetics before it was all said and done.

* * *

Adrian made his way wearily to the mess. His initial debriefing had gone better than he'd expected; largely, he suspected, because the Captain had already had a chance to see Lt. Grayhawk in action. There would be a more in depth meeting in the morning after Thoms had had a chance to review the combat record from the GINN and whatever preliminary data medical could send him on Grayhawk.

There had been a chance for a shower, a few hours worth of nap, and now he was hungry. He already knew the Team had been unbelievably lucky. Lon was the only fatality they had. To balance their luck, there was no other team assigned to the _Ballard_ that had more than three survivors. Two were gone altogether. And word was they were going to be one of the two ships taking the wounded back to Carpentaria. He wondered who they'd offended to get that charming, if necessary, job.

The mess was a shock. Each team had their own table, with a small standard on it to mark it for any newcomer who was wandering around lost and various mementos of past accomplishments scattered on it. Well, that was how things had been before he'd left for the attack.

Now the tables were bare of all Team symbols. Somebody had gone through here and taken not only the standards but the table cloths, the various trophies, and the individual pilot's nameplates from their places. The room was suddenly starkly white with all the different Team colors removed.

For the first time the extent of their losses punched Adrian right in the face. He stared around, lost in what had been the most familiar space aboard the ship. In the unexpectedly enlarged space, the few people there all seemed to be huddled at the tables closest to the chow line. He recognized no one there, no one at all. Yet by the uniforms, they were mostly pilots and he knew every one based on the ship. The sense of disorientation deepened.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad."

Adrian turned to find Yuri Lubbek standing beside him. He'd never been so glad to see the younger pilot. Having Yuri there gave him a frame of reference again. The other Thoms flyer gave him a ghost of a smile.

"Captain said not to get you up earlier." Yuri told him. "So you missed what passed for lunch. Didn't miss much. The cooks were not at their best."

"I can imagine so." Adrian replied. "I'd be amazed if there is anyone on this ship who is. Oh, glad to see you got home safe too."

"Thanks. My GINN's going to be fixable too; the _Shackelton_ will be bringing it back to Carpentaria for us. I thought it was bad luck getting hit like that but it turned out to be good luck after all. _Shackelton_ was just outside the destruction zone. If I'd gone with Lon, I'd probably be dead."

"Yeah." He shook his head slowly. "Freedom's pilot did try to save Lon, it just didn't work out."

'Rin," his friend's intense blue eyes held concern. "There are some wild stories going around about you. They're saying you brought Lon back in an Earth Forces body bag and had one of them prisoner in your GINN. A stunner of a girl no less! What the hell happened after my suit got hit?"

"Well, will wonders never cease? Rumor has it right for once."

"What!" Yuri's eyes suddenly looked like blue fried eggs as they opened as wide as they could go. "Those things are true?"

"Yeah. It's a long story and I'm hungry. I'll tell you the whole thing over food."

"Oh, yeah, you sure will! 'Cause I'm not leaving until you do!"

The meal was very plain and there were only three choices offered instead of the usual dozen. Someone was using their head here, keeping things under control and making sure the food put out was as foolproof as possible. Uninspired it might be but by judicious taste testing he discovered it was actually good. He filled his plate with a generous hand.

Yuri led him to a table where he was surprised to discover about two thirds of the rest of the Thoms Team was already eating. They were right here and yet he hadn't recognized any of them from across the room. Still, he was going to have an audience. That was probably not a bad thing under the circumstances. The tables close around were also fairly full and there were many covert glances coming his way, not all friendly. An audience was definitely not a bad thing.

He started with soup and catching up to a Moebius Zero that had just downed a pair of DINN's that had been fools enough to let it get behind them. The peas disappeared about the same time the Zero crashed. He made bad sculptures out of the potatoes as he tried to illustrate the Freedom's attempt to save Lon Baki. The steak was in small shreds by the time he finished describing the encounter with the _Archangel_ and retrieving Lon's body. He took questions for a while then and ate the rest of dinner while there was still some warmth in it. He got the GINN into the suit rack as he finished up the pie.

"So then Holman reaches in and grabs her." Adrian could feel his voice getting tired but this needed to be told too. "The stupid ass jerked her out onto the hatch and started feeling her up and being seriously crude. The Captain snapped at him but you know Trace, he ignored him. He had his hand up at the top of her inner thigh when she decided to get rid of him."

He shook his head. "She is fast, damn fast, for a Natural! She had her knees back to her chest before I knew it. Bent Holman's arm in an interesting way as she removed his hand from her leg doing it too. He never got a chance to react before she kicked him. If he hadn't slipped a bit, she'd have smashed the family jewels and I'm quite sure she was intending to. As it was, she almost kicked him off the gantry. The Captain caught him or he'd have gone over. And he called Trace stupid when he sent for a med team to get him to sick bay."

Adrian shook his head again. "Captain talked to her and they agreed on a truce. She gave him no trouble at all. Of course, the Captain treated her as the law demands. That did have something to do with it."

"And you brought her back alone in your GINN?" Yuri asked, a bit awed.

"I tied her up hand and foot while she was unconscious." Adrian pointed out carefully. "And I kept my hands on the controls. I'm pretty sure if I'd made any move on her, we'd both be drowned now. She made it quite plain that there are prices for survival she will not pay."

"Gonna be interesting when some luckless soul tells her just what she's been taken for."

Adrian didn't see who said that but there was a loud buzz of agreement from just about everyone. He wasn't looking forward to it. He'd brought her in, he would be the one who explained it. Given how she reacted so far, he would not push that off on anyone else.

"So where is she now?" Someone in the back wanted to know. "I'd like to see this girl."

"She's in isolation in Sick Bay." Everyone looked around in surprise as the _Ballard_'s Captain spoke suddenly. "She is not an exhibit in a zoo and I will consider attempts at voyeurism a disciplinary offence. Do I make myself clear gentlemen?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Pilots and ships crew alike jumped to their feet and saluted. Captain Ponchard was generally fairly easy going but when he laid down the law, he meant it. The Earth Forces girl was off limits, absolutely and beyond question. The tone of voice moreover said anyone caught sneaking a peek would be in a lot more trouble than normal.

"Now, if I may have your attention for other, military matters please." The Captain looked around, managing as usual to give every man there the impression he was speaking to them alone. "It has been decided that we will retaliate for this mass murder today. We will strike Panama tomorrow. Special weapons will be arriving shortly along with the teams trained to use them. These weapons will make up for our inferior numbers. Any pilot with a serviceable machine may volunteer for this assault. The only exception is Lt. Ito. He is responsible for his prisoner and may not participate in any action until she has been safely delivered to the Project facility on Aprilius."

"Understand, by striking Panama we will trap the Earth Forces down here on the planet surface. We control all remaining mass drivers other than those at Panama and Aube. We will destroy the Panama driver. Aube will never permit the Atlantic Federation to use theirs. They will be unable to carry the battle back into space. Our homes will be safe. Theirs on the other hand, will be vulnerable to our every whim. Once we have them locked down here, we will be able to dictate terms to them and force them to accept. The war will end in our victory!"

The Captain suddenly smiled. "We have taken terrible losses, but I trust you to avenge them and bring triumph back to lay on their graves."

"FOR THE HONOR AND GLORY OF THE ZAFT!"

The shout was deafening in the too empty room. Adrian's head rang. He had shouted with the rest, this was not the time or place to do something unpatriotic, but his heart wasn't in it. It couldn't be this simple or easy. Someone was underestimating the Naturals again.

Within minutes he was practically alone. There were a few cook's helpers clearing tables. A half dozen people were bolting the last of their meals. Everyone else was gone, headed for their mobile suits or other duties to play their parts in tomorrow's attack.

Suddenly he was exhausted and he wasn't sure why. He stood indecisively for a few seconds, then made up his mind. He had no part in the battle tomorrow, Captain Ponchard had been very clear about that. So, damn it, he was free to just go back to bed if he wanted to. And he did. He wouldn't have to think about any of this if he was asleep. He was very, very unhappy with his own brain right now. It was questioning too many of the certainties of his life. He hated being suddenly uncertain about things he'd always believed to be the bedrocks of his worldview.

An image came unbidden. Two intense pools of green fire, poisoned by grief, loss, and betrayal. If Earth Command could betray its people like that at Josh-A, could his commanders do something similar to him? He realized he could no longer assume with assurance that they wouldn't. What was he fighting for? When _would_ he know it was time for it to end? Ahhhhh! Why had he met those people? They forced him to question what he never wanted to! Adrian turned and stomped off to bed before the questions in his head could drive him mad.

* * *

Kayla welcomed the fresh air as she stood beside Lt. Ito on the dock at Carpentaria. She'd been cooped up in the tiny isolation room in _Ballard_'s sick bay for three days now and she was heartily disgusted with it. It was barely long enough for the bed and clearance for medical staff to get around it at need. It was four steps to the door and two to the wall on other side. There were no decorations on the walls and the vidscreen was turned off. There was nothing to do and her captors supplied neither reading nor writing materials. Aside from some tests taken when she'd first been brought aboard, they'd ignored her except for meals. All efforts at conversation had been met with the information that she was 'off limits', they wouldn't say a word more or stay a second longer than it took to drop a meal tray off or pick the empty one up.

An hour ago that changed. The ship's Captain came by to inform her they were coming into Carpentaria. He ordered her to get cleaned up, as if she hadn't showered already, and said appropriate clothing would be provided. Kayla took the hint and disappeared into the bath for a bit. An extra shower was never a bad thing. Besides, this time she had permission to let the water run as long as she wanted. So she showered, washed her hair, dried it and only then emerged from this exile within exile he'd ordered her into.

She'd found a neatly folded stack of clothing set squarely in the middle of the now tautly made bed. The message was clear. She was not going to be sleeping here again.

The outfit itself was interesting. Every piece of it was a vivid light green, a completely saturated color that nearly glowed under the ship's standard lighting. She was going to be very visible, which was probably the whole point. Although why the underwear had to be the same intense shade eluded her.

It was only when she shook out the dress itself that she discovered it was a bit more than expected. It was styled very similarly to an Earth Forces woman's uniform except the skirt was noticeably longer and fuller. There was an Earth Forces patch on both arms and her correct rank insignia was pinned on shoulder and collar. There was also a legend stenciled on the right breast reading "POW/Ito Project". Now POW was prisoner of war and that was something it was legal to make her wear since she was one but what was this damned Ito Project?

She discovered it was a multi-size outfit when she opened it up to put it on. Apparently ZAFT was thrifty when it came to dressing their POW's. This would adjust to fit almost any woman from a size twelve to a size twenty four! A few moments of fiddling with it had it looking just fine on her size sixteen frame. A glance in the bath mirror showed her that the color was more becoming than she'd expected. So she wasn't going to be stuck in something that made her look half dead while trapped here.

She was putting on the slippers that came with the outfit when Lt. Ito arrived. He did not look overjoyed to be her escort; he looked like a man with a serious problem with his conscience in actual fact. Well, he'd warned her there was something wrong with all of this when she'd first come to in the GINN. Looked like whatever he knew was chewing holes in him. Kayla decided she didn't want to find out any sooner than absolutely necessary.

Ito brought a thin chain with a pair of manacles on it with him. She'd glared at it but kept her mouth shut. It was legal to secure prisoners of war using these. At least he hadn't had a set of hobbles with him as well. Ito wrapped the chain twice around her waist, putting it through loops on the side of the dress she hadn't paid any attention to earlier before he crossed one end under the doubled chain and fastened the attached manacle to her right wrist. He put the other on her left wrist, leaving her some freedom of movement but no chance of undoing the chain or slipping out of the handcuffs.

So now they were standing quietly on the dock in the light but cool breeze as the _Ballard_ unloaded the wounded. Kayla watched in silence, careful to keep her face as neutral as possible. They wouldn't believe sympathy and she didn't feel any triumph over these people. Yes, they had been killing her people, but that was what they were expected to do, they were the enemy and there was a war going on. She'd been killing theirs. Now they were just broken, hurt bodies that could do her no harm. There was nothing to be triumphant about there. The cowards of Blue Cosmos and their Cyclops had seen to that!

"Enjoying this, Natural?" a bitter voice asked.

She looked over to see a young, pale blue haired boy in the red coat of ZAFT's elite staring at her with hate in his dark blue eyes. He sat in a power chair, his left leg heavily bandaged and splinted sticking straight out ahead. His left arm was in a sling and also splinted. The way he sat suggested heavy bandaging across the chest as well.

"Pain is not an entertainment factor." Kayla replied evenly. "Watching this reminds me too much of seeing friends in the same shape. No, this is not enjoyable. You have to be a little sick to enjoy anybody's pain."

"Lying bitch!"

"Think whatever you want to." She shrugged.

"You hate us! You nuked Junius Seven with no warning!"

"_I_ wasn't on that mission. _I_ had no particular opinion on you people back then. Coordinators didn't much affect the life of me or my family or our sheep business. We could ignore you and we did. You didn't matter to us until you sent the N-jammers slamming into the ground. Then we had to pay attention to you and to think about you. You'd be amazed how many people on Earth were just like my family. Blue Cosmos is a lot smaller group than the noise it makes would suggest."

"Oh, and what have you decided you think of us now?" the kid sneered.

She turned and looked him right in the eye. "That it's a crying shame we're stupid enough to be so damn jealous of our own greatest creation."

He stared at her, his mouth open but no words coming out.

"Or have you conveniently forgotten that we made you? That you don't exist or reproduce without a full medlab to make it happen. Your Zala says you're a new species but he's wrong. Biology says a species can reproduce itself unaided. You can't. Until you can, you are a marvel of technology and a crown jewel of human science, . . . . . . . . . . , and that's all you are."

"Shut up before someone shoots you!" Ito snapped.

"What for? Answering his question honestly?" Kayla snapped back. "You people are incredible but you aren't a species. Zala can't make you one just by declaring it from a podium either. The iron laws of biology won't bend for any politician! You are a next-to-unbelievable triumph of technology. Take away that technology and you are gone in a generation. That's not hate; it's just how the thing works. Pretending anything else it true is self-destruction for you! I don't know what your Zala is thinking of but the real universe isn't part of his vision; not if he believes the nonsense he spouts in public."

"And you can't wait to see us gone, can you?"

She looked up to see she'd managed to attract a small crowd. Oh brother, when would she learn? They were all pissed too. Well too bad! If they couldn't handle reality, that wasn't her problem. And she wasn't going to lie to them either. They'd spot that in a heartbeat now.

"I've never joined Blue Cosmos. They're all crazy."

"Oh, sure, yeah you really believe that."

The images from the GINN flooded her mind suddenly; her temper snapped.

"STUFF BLUE COSMOS! IT WAS THOSE BASTARDS THAT BETRAYED US! THEY PLANTED THEIR LITTLE 'TOY' AND RAN LIKE HELL, LEAVING THE REST OF US BEHIND AS NOTHING MORE THAN LIVE BAIT! DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME ONE OF THOSE SHIT COWARDS, YOU HEAR ME? YOU PUT A CORK IN IT ZAFT! YOU'VE NEVER BEEN BUTCHERED LIKE DOGS BY YOUR OWN COMMANDERS JUST TO GET A FEW OF THE ENEMY! YOU KNOW JACK SHIT ABOUT IT!"


	6. Chapter 6

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknowledged but off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Three hundred plus hits – one review; interesting ratio. Now I really am curious to know if the story is actually that uninspiring. However, I will not hold up posting for reviews as that form of blackmail does not appeal to me.

I do thank my lone reviewer and the kind soul who listed this in their favorites.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

Grayhawk's scream brought every activity in the area to a halt. God, the girl had a set of lungs! Adrian's eyes flicked everywhere, trying to watch everyone at once. The main reaction was shock. A lot of people simply hadn't noticed her or realized she was an Earth Forces prisoner. They knew it now. They had a whole new perspective on Josh-A shoved in their faces too. It wasn't being welcomed, but it couldn't be ignored either. Not with Grayhawk standing there, magnificent in a towering rage that wasn't going to back down if Hell came calling in person.

The glare she was directing at the wounded Elite youngster should have melted the chair he was in. He couldn't meet it; he looked everywhere but at the enraged EA pilot. This battle was not a ZAFT victory. Ironic when the enemy was already a prisoner of war.

"That, . . . . . . . , that wasn't what we were talking about." The kid finally managed to blurt out.

"Oh yes it was." Grayhawk snarled. "You were just going half way round the galaxy to get there."

"Well, what the hell would a girl know about it anyway?"

"Lieutenant Kayla Grayhawk, 421st Air Wing, commanding 3d Moebius Squadron. Received my commission the day before the nuclear assault on Plant. I've been part of this since it began. Can you say the same Mr. ZAFT Elite? Have you been in every major battle since the first strike at Luna? Because I have! So if you can't, I don't want to hear you bleating about how you know so much more just because you got that guys bitsy third leg, hear me?"

421st Air Wing, 3d Moebius Squadron? Adrian stared at his prisoner. Suddenly he knew just who she was. Oh lord, and here everyone thought the Tomahawk was a guy! No, she didn't have the same kind of record as the Hawk of Endymion, but the Tomahawk was still very well known in ZAFT for his, or rather _her_, skill in keeping her people alive in a sky where ZAFT was the better equipped and better trained. With the Tomahawk holding it together, the 3d Moebius Squadron was one of the only Moebius units in the EA that was consistently dangerous. The Zero was far inferior to the GINN as a fighting craft. But in the hands of a few highly unusual Naturals, it could almost hold it's own. And this girl was one of those few. He'd picked even better than he knew the other day.

"Who do you think you are?" The kid was indignant now.

"She's the Tomahawk." Adrian said clearly. "Weren't you listening to the unit and squadron identification?"

Silence followed that naming. Men glanced at each other to see if the other guy believed it. Then they looked back at Grayhawk, standing like an angry statue in front of them. She met the eyes of anyone who dared meet hers. He could see it as more and more of the crowd began to believe. It was the eyes, he knew it. Those incredible emerald eyes held so much truth, pain, and experience.

"So that's why everything looked so familiar."

Adrian whipped around to find Captain Thoms leaning against a pallet of neatly secured supplies. He looked tired and more than a bit grubby. Like he'd come straight out of battle or an unusually long atmospheric flight in his GINN.

"Sir?"

"The record from your GINN over Josh-A. Now I understand why that fight looked so familiar. Change it from atmosphere to space and it could have been any one of half a dozen engagements the old Luden Team had with the 3d Zero Squad. Except you actually managed to bring Tomahawk down." The Captain nodded congratulations to him. "Very well done. There are a lot of guys who are going to owe me some serious money since it was one of my Team who finally took Tomahawk out of our hair."

"Sir!" A master chief in the crowd spoke up. "Sir, do you have any word from Panama? We heard it was successful but no more than that."

"Successful? Yeah, if you count total slaughter a success, it was." Thoms stared up into the sky, but he didn't look like he was seeing anything that was actually there. "Too many people went in too mad over Josh-A. Discipline broke down and it went from war to murder. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Just killed a lot of line troops while the people responsible for that Cyclops got away again. Worse, the bulk of their forces weren't even there. We smashed up the mass driver all right, but mostly because it was so lightly defended."

"Where are they?" Adrian asked, seriously worried.

The Captain stood up and smiled crookedly. "Why, they went to get themselves another mass driver of course. The Atlantic Federation attacked Aube sometime before noon today. We have reports of several new mobile suits on both sides of the conflict. Most interestingly, it seems the legged ship Commander Le Creuset has been pursuing also went to Aube and is now defending that nation against their former comrades."

Thoms gave Lt. Grayhawk a long study before he continued calmly. "It seems they resented being used as live bait as well. That impressive new mobile suit, the Freedom, is still with them and is also defending Aube. Preliminary word is that while Aube will make it hellishly expensive, they will not be able to stop the Federation."

Kayla Grayhawk shook her head grimly in firm disagreement. "I've visited Aube. Went with a diplomatic delegation that wanted to impress someone by having a real, live combat vet along. Doubt I impressed the sand on the beaches, let alone their leadership. They strike a lot of folks as soft but they're not. The Federation may take the islands but they aren't going to get the mass driver. Having toured the place, I'd guess they're after the research and development facilities at Morgenroete as well and they won't get those either. Uzumi Athha will see it all blown to bits before he lets them have the charred scraps. They call that man 'The Lion of Aube' for a reason."

"I agree." Captain Thoms replied immediately. "And once that happens, all hell will break out down here. The EA will be desperate for a mass driver and they will strike out viciously to get one."

"And we'll stop them!" The chief exclaimed proudly.

He was roundly cheered by the crowd. Adrian eyed his Captain and saw no agreement there. He had his own doubts as well. The Naturals were far from finished no matter what anyone said about it up in the Plants.

'We made you', that was what Kayla said. A lot of Coordinators tried to forget that, to forget that they got their courage, determination, and willingness to hold on in the face of impossible odds from the Naturals who bred them out of themselves. They wanted those to be Coordinator traits, and they were! But they weren't exclusively Coordinator traits and never could be.

Ship Captains and upper level medical personnel began arriving to break up the crowd. They got the flow of wounded to the hospitals and evacuation points going again. Someone rounded up the young Elite as well before he could continue to cause trouble. Within minutes, Adrian found himself once more in a quiet backwater with only his prisoner and his Captain for company.

"Fortune favors you, Tomahawk. You came out of this one alive. You really do need to learn to keep a tighter rein on that temper of yours." Captain Thoms remarked quietly.

"My name is Grayhawk." She grumbled. "That stupid nickname is something for a dumb kid. I didn't even pick it! One of your less bright bulbs hung that one on me."

"I'm given to understand Commander Le Creuset somehow discovered your ethnic background and selected it as appropriate."

Adrian's eyebrows rose. Commander Le Creuset had picked it himself? That was something of an honor. Although, given the look in her eyes, she didn't see it that way.

"He has wretched taste." She finally said after several false starts where she was obviously censoring herself.

"Uhmm, that's a matter of opinion. The good Commander is quite well connected in the new administration by the way. I would be a bit discrete in my criticisms of him were I you." Thoms suddenly stood up straight. "Ah, the transport is here! In, the both of you. Before the Lieutenant here starts an incident she doesn't survive."

An undistinguished security transport had pulled up just beyond the pallet Captain Thoms had been using as a shoulder rest. It was one of the smaller units, a box on wheels really, that could be loaded directly onto a space shuttle without the passengers having to change vehicles. So they would be going all the way to the Ito Project's site now without any more side stops.

The interior was neatly if neutrally appointed. There were four seats, all deep and well padded. They faced each other in pairs, separated by a reading stand and light, with a low table secured to the floor between them. One of the chairs was equipped with a pair of short chains and lock-rings. He settled Grayhawk there and secured the waist chain to the two side chains. She would not be going anywhere now until he released her. She gave him a cold look but said nothing.

Adrian took the chair beside Grayhawk and his Captain elected to sit across from him. When he opened his mouth to start a conversation to relieve the tense silence though, Thoms waved one finger at him sharply. He raised one eyebrow in question but only got another quick gesture for silence. He wondered what was going on.

They rode to the spaceport, loaded onto the shuttle and launched all in the same uncomfortable stillness. Only when they felt the jar that indicated the orbital booster had dropped away did Thoms move. He reached under the seat and pulled out a small case. When the Captain opened it, Adrian could see a complex set of screens and very small controls. The Captain flipped them all on and watched for what felt like an hour but timed out as five minutes.

"It seems the transport is clean as promised."

"Sir?"

Thoms looked up. "The failure of "Operation Spit Break" has had massive consequences at home, Ito. Thanks to my mother's connections, I've been warned that there are friends I must not see and questions I must not ask. Orders coming from the Chairman's Office are no longer to be questioned, period. Former Chairman Clyne and his daughter have been accused of treason and espionage for the Naturals."

"What! That's crazy!" Adrian protested.

"An opinion you will never express again, am I understood?" Lance Thoms said flatly. "Think anything you please as long as your big mouth stays shut!"

He stared at his commander in shock. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't how things were done in the Plants!

"So, the radical nutjobs are completely in charge on both sides now." Grayhawk said quietly. "We're all gonna die. Neither of them will permit the other to exist."

"We may." Thoms agreed. "Or we may not. It will depend on many factors and on what each of us chooses to do when the chips come down."

"And until then?" Adrian asked very softly.

"We go on." The Captain shrugged. "The Team will be reassembling at Aprilius Base. I've no idea where we will be stationed other than in local Plant space. We are being completely resupplied; our old machines have been left on Earth for the use of our forces there. It was judged they would take too much time to make fully space worthy again after all the damages they've sustained in the recent battles. You, of course, will be available to the Project as required."

"Ah, yeah, anyone got the guts yet to tell me just what this 'Ito Project' is?"

Adrian nodded before Thoms could say anything. "Yes, it's time to explain it."

He turned to face her, careful to tuck his legs back. She was secured to that seat but he had chosen not to hobble her legs. He didn't know what her kick range was but he was willing to guess it was longer than it looked like it should be. He really didn't want to either hurt her trying to control her or get hurt himself when she lost her temper.

"You remarked earlier that Coordinators need a full medlab to reproduce. Do you know why that's so?"

"Not really." Kayla answered readily enough although her eyes were narrowing already. "I do know I don't believe a word of the crap Blue Cosmos spreads."

"Actually, this time they aren't so far off. Their details are completely false but the underlying premise, that the work done to make us was defective is not entirely wrong." He settled back, this was a very familiar story, one he'd grown up hearing argued over the dinner table every time Grandfather came for a holiday meal.

"You see, there are two sets of changes that make Coordinators. The first, and the one that really makes us what we are, is metabolic. It is about removing all the damaged material in a gamete's genome, then enhancing the factors that improve the functions of the body and the brain. This is why we are stronger, faster, healthier, and have a greater intellectual capacity than Naturals do. Because of the metabolic enhancements."

"Those enhancements have an effect on our reproductive capacity too of course. They put it into overdrive and would result in a very early end of fertility if we didn't do some other adjustments. So between those enhancements and adjustments, we could actually manage without a medlab. The children born however would have a very wide range of abilities and some could fall as far as back into the category of Naturals."

"Makes sense." She muttered. "And I can see why that wasn't acceptable to people too."

"Very unacceptable." He agreed wryly. "However, that could have been dealt with by relatively simple tweaking. The real problem comes in when you add on the 'gifts' people wanted their enhanced children to have. Suddenly you were doing a lot more than just boosting what was there naturally. Now you are into serious gene splicing and rearranging. This is the second level of what makes Coordinators. And it is why it takes a medlab to make more. Because those spliced and rearranged genes don't always divide well at mitosis or go together very well at fertilization to make a new Coordinator. We are now in the third generation and our birth rate is dropping noticeably. Marriages are arranged by how your genes fit together, not how your personalities match. The few fourth generation children there are already are so complex in their genetic needs that they will be very difficult to successfully match with other fourth generations. We need another solution."

She had it figured out already; he could see it in the twin slits of green fire her eyes had narrowed to. Mad didn't even begin to describe those eyes. Even rage was too pale a word. He wasn't sure what word would be good enough, or even if there was one.

"Finish this story." She hissed.

"You already know the rest, but ok. My Grandfather is Dr. Roland Ito. He's a first generation Coordinator and an expert in genetics. He's watched this develop, predicted it actually. Some time before I was born, he finally cracked the problem and knew what was needed to solve it. He also knew the political will to do so was totally absent. He was working with a research team pushing the extreme in our development in another direction and realized they were going for the wrong answer. He left the team shortly before they had some kind of major lab accident that closed that project down for good. Killed a lot of them, he said. Anyway, the solution he found, and genetically it is absolutely sound, was to go back to the way the first generation Coordinators were made and redesign the process."

He sat up, leaning slightly forward as he got to the heart of the matter. "Grandfather developed the tweaks that should have been worked out a generation ago. Using his techniques, the metabolic changes come together smoothly; the child produced will pass on his or her heritage with an even higher degree of confidence that the next generation will inherit their sound genetics than any Natural can. You can even tack on up to five 'gifts' without disrupting this assurance or, most importantly, causing real problems crossing such children with existing Coordinator lines. When you do cross them into an existing line, they are the dominate parent and they clean up most of the problems that line currently has."

"And just where are you getting these wonder kids?"

He sighed. "From girls like you. Naturals with exceptional genetic qualities found among the POW population are being co-opted into the program. I said it was sound genetically, I didn't say a word about the ethics."

"Let me be absolutely sure I'm hearing this right; you plan to use _me_ as a brood ewe to make you a bunch of little Coordinators?"

His own temper, under a lot of strain from his conscience, snapped. "They're called _children_!"

"IT'S CALLED RAPE!" She shrieked back.

"Only with a pipette." He replied sharply. "This isn't sex here, its lab work."

She stared at him, then suddenly began to laugh hysterically. "Is that supposed to make it all right?"

"NO!" Adrian jumped to his feet and screamed back at her. "NO, IT DOES NOT MAKE ANYTHING ALL RIGHT! OK? IT'S NOT ALL RIGHT! I ADMIT IT! NOW WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE DIED AT JOSH-A? 'CAUSE THAT WAS THE ONLY OTHER CHOICE! YOU HEAR ME? IT WAS THE ONLY, . . . . . , OTHER, . . . . . . CHOICE!"


	7. Chapter 7

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Not all things that begin as acts of war must stay such. Rated T for language and openly acknowledged but off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

Lance Thoms sighed inwardly. This was going almost exactly as he'd expected. The girl was frightened and mad. His pilot was embarrassed and ashamed. It was the perfect first date. And, weird as it was, this trip was indeed something of a first date.

He had the advantage of watching this from both the outside and an extra decade's experience. He'd known there was something between them when Ito first opened the GINN's hatch. There was a protectiveness in the boy's position, and an acceptance of that protection in the girl's. It was very subtle; he didn't think anyone else had noticed a thing. Perhaps Holman's butting in had been a useful event. It certainly distracted all attention from the two of them as a pair to focus it on the girl as an Earth Forces officer.

During the debriefing, Adrian had been almost more concerned about what was happening to his prisoner than the potential trouble he might be in himself. And the two interrogation sessions he'd had with Grayhawk, under drugs during her sleep so she would not be aware they had happened, had turned up an interest and concern on her part for the trouble Ito might be in. Again, it was nothing that was going to slap anyone in the face but then, any other interrogator would not have been present to see the hatch opened either and so would not be watching for such connections.

Today it was almost blatantly obvious. There was a physical tension between them of course. They were both young, healthy, and all too human after all. But there was something else too, something he thought came from the shared escape from Josh-A.

For a shared combat experience to trigger such a reaction between enemy soldiers was very unusual. But then, how often did enemies find themselves forced to stay in close proximity in the aftermath of mutual disaster? That the situation had followed a very historic pattern of male capture/control of female, outdated as it was, probably hadn't hurt the relationship. There was a lot of biology in these things after all. It was very well known that the responses of the inner recesses of the brain hadn't caught up with the developments of gender equality in human society; that there were moments when _anyone_ appreciated being protected, even if they weren't actually aware of it, because that was what the instinctive part of the hindbrain wanted. Not that it would be wise to say that to any reasonably strong woman today; they much preferred to use the forebrain thank you so very much!

Then too, Ito and Grayhawk were much alike in their world views and their personal codes of honor as well. They both did their own thinking; higher command could give the orders but it could not dictate what they thought about those orders. Perhaps most significantly, neither despised the other's genetic identity.

Lance had known a couple of Natural/Coordinator pairs. Both had eventually moved to Aube's space colony at Heliopolis to find a place where they could live in peace when both Earth and the Plants proved too prejudiced to accept them. They had been happy with each other but had no children. Children would have forced them to choose between the genetics and caused no end of family problems.

Childlessness was not an option for the pair sharing the shuttle with him today. When he'd brought her aboard the _Ballard_ as an Ito Plan candidate, Adrian had locked them both into parenthood. The children would be Coordinators. That was also pre-determined.

About half way through the flight, the fighting petered out. By three quarters of the way to Aprilius, Kayla was demanding information on the entire procedure. Lance was rather surprised at how much the boy knew. Grayhawk was going to walk in the door the best informed 'brood ewe' Dr. Ito had ever had. Somehow, he doubted that wealth of data would be appreciated by the old man.

Adrian was still talking when the shuttle landed. Having finished the actual clinical details, he was going over the kinds of 'gifts' that could be safely grafted onto an Ito Project child. Kayla was listening intently. Thoms noted that the one detail the pilot had left out was his role in this. He wondered if the boy was going to tell her or if he would chicken out and let someone at the clinic do it.

The transport gave a small jerk suddenly. Ah, they had arrived and were unloading. There was a sudden tipping as they rolled off the ramp, then they were back on level ground again. Lance reached over and flipped the external viewscreen on. This was only his third trip to Aprilius; he did want to play tourist a bit while he could. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to remind Ito what he was fighting to protect.

They had come in at the main commercial port. Now they drove through the heart of the central city and on out into the more rural areas. Here what agriculture the Plant had shared space with the estates of the social elite and the parks for the general public. The Ito Project was out on the rim, backing up to one of the largest ZAFT mobile suit training facilities in all the Plants. It made it easy to move people and supplies in and out secretly under the cover of the activity of the busy base.

"It's beautiful." Kayla said suddenly. "I'd always heard the Plants were some kind of wonderlands. Looks like those stories at least are true. But it's so _ordered_ here! Don't you people have anything that grows where it wants to?"

"Maybe some small stuff does." Adrian replied before he could. "But you have to remember that each Plant is actually a semi-sealed ecosystem. Order and balance are vital to function and survival here. The messy randomness I saw everywhere on Earth looked so strange, and so potentially dangerous after growing up here. It took quite a while to get used to it."

"If you think about it, a planet is actually another semi-sealed ecology." Lance noted. "It's just a very large one. I suppose that's why it can afford the wildness."

"You have a point there. Top of an atmosphere or glass walls, both act as seals to keep the ecology protected and enclosed. Only the scale is really different in a way." She agreed softly.

"That difference in scale makes each Plant much more vulnerable than Earth is." Adrian said quietly as he stared out at the passing landscape. "We live in fragile glass houses, really. They break so easily."

"Ah," she replied very gently, not looking at him. "So do you want to tell me about it yet?"

"About what?"

"About the broken glass house. About why you're dying inside looking out at that place that you should be glad to see."

Lance froze. Did she have any idea what she was asking? Could she even comprehend how that one event had reshaped the very soul of each and every person in the Plants old enough to understand what happened that day?

"No, . . . . . . . . . , not yet." He whispered.

"I'll wait."

He nodded once. There was silence for the rest of the trip.

She understood! She saw into him! How? He'd never had a girl do that to him before. This Natural picked up signals no Coordinator girl ever had. How did she do that? They weren't supposed to be anywhere as gifted as his people. Why could this one do what none of his could do?

And why in the name of all holy things did he want to answer her?

The sexual interest he could understand. That was reasonable. She was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. He was going to father children on her. Hell yes, he wanted to have some of the fun! It mattered as much as the privilege of knowing he would have children who were going to be genetically sound; children who would grow up to be able to marry where they wanted and have children of their own without the government choosing their mates. Did anyone think he was a block of rock?

But where had this emotional interest suddenly come from? Why did it matter what she thought of anything? She was only a Natural, an Earth Forces soldier for god's sake! They were the one's who killed his family! Why did he give one rat's ass about her? Why, when he looked at her did he want to take her and keep her safe from this whole stinking war? He was so frustrated by the confusion he wanted to scream.

The transport came to a brief halt. The viewscreen showed a guard station and a heavy perimeter fence. Captain Thoms reached forward and turned it off without a word. The logic behind that was too obvious to need any comment. They started up again a few seconds later.

"You keep running around in that rat maze of a mind of yours, you'll go nuts you know."

He looked up to find her green eyes just looking at him. There was no particular judgment there. But once more she was seeing right through him.

"Excuse me?" He took refuge in indignation.

"Look Ito, a blind man in a blizzard at midnight could see something is messing you up. So why don't you just spit out whatever evil detail it is your sitting on and get it over with?"

Just spit it out? Ah, not likely, no! But he was going to have to tell her something and it was going to have to be something big enough to convince her it was the problem. He only had one other piece of information left that fit that bill.

"Did you ever wonder why I took the chance and captured you?"

"Ah, ha, so there is a personal incentive offered to you guys for doing this!"

How did she know this? What had he said to give it away? He gave up trying to figure it out and just sighed.

"Yes."

"You said there wasn't any sex, just lab work!" She growled accusingly.

"It is all lab work. It's simply that I know that I will be providing the other half of the child. That's my reward, a child to carry my heritage on with a surety few of us have."

He could feel the power of her eyes drilling twin holes in the side of his skull.

"Adrian Ito, who is gonna be raising this kid? I don't see any ring on your finger, so there isn't a wife somewhere to take it on. I fully intend to do my duty and escape if I possibly can. You'll be off getting yourself killed in a damn mobile suit. So I repeat, who raises the kid?"

"My mother has told me she would be very happy to accept any child I ever had. Mom isn't that old, she can and will look after the child."

There was a long moment of silence before she spoke again. "Only three left, that's what you told Freedom's pilot. You, your mother and this disreputable grandfather, right?"

He looked up, startled. "You heard that?"

"Yeah, that's where I regained consciousness."

Adrian turned away again. "Yes, that's right."

"Everyone else was in the glass house that you won't talk about."

"Yes."

"I begin to see why this is important enough to you that you bent your ethics."

The tone of her voice was very odd. He looked over at her but her face was a perfect blank. He looked at his commander to find one eyebrow up in unmistakable respect. He'd missed something here. And he didn't think Captain Thoms would tell him what it was. Not by the look in his eyes at this moment anyway.

The transport made three more stops, in all probability for security checkpoints, before it stopped and shut off the engine. They had arrived. He went over and released Grayhawk from the chair. She nodded thanks but made no move to stand yet. He turned to set his back against the compartment wall and waited.

The door opened silently and his Grandfather stepped into the transport. For only the second time in his life, Adrian saw the old man look every day of his age. Only in the days immediately after Bloody Valentine had he looked like this. Something was wrong, something major. He closed the door behind him firmly.

"Siegel Clyne is dead." Roland Ito said wearily. "Patrick Zala's people are hunting his daughter throughout the Plants. Aube has fallen, although it appears they managed to destroy everything of military value before the Atlantic Federation could lay hands on it. Everything I have worked for is in jeopardy because of one blindly self-centered man who is so sure he knows all the answers."

"Surely someone can reason with Chairman Zala?" Captain Thoms said slowly.

"Who said anything about Zala?" Dr. Ito looked up angrily. "Zala is a tool in the hands of a madman. Oh, our good Chairman thinks he's making his own decisions but there is another pulling the strings! I should have killed that defective clone when I had the chance!"

"Grandfather," Adrian asked carefully, "who are you talking about?"

"Never you mind! What you don't know you can't accidentally repeat. Your grandmother used to tell me I would rue the day I ever got involved with that ethic-less young genius Hibiki and so I do, so I do. But rue or no, that was a long time ago. If anything is to be saved out of this, it must be saved today. It isn't Siegel who played both sides against each other. That game won't stop with Clyne's death. Betrayal of both sides will continue until he has his climactic battle that ends all mankind or someone stops him."

The old man suddenly pointed a long finger at his grandson. "And it will not be you who does that, do you hear me? You are skilled Adrian, but it will take the best the human race has to stop this one. No, you will concentrate on stopping the Earth Forces from destroying the Plants. And perhaps you will also have to help stop our illustrious Chairman from destroying the Earth as well."

"Are you sure Clyne is lost?" Captain Thoms questioned crisply.

"Eh?" Dr. Ito turned to stare at him, then nodded angrily. "Yes, yes. Your mother brought me word herself. Zala is keeping this news out of public distribution of course, Siegel was and still is very popular with scores of moderates. This business of accusing him of treason has stuck in many throats."

"The fall of Aube is also confirmed?" Thoms asked, staying focused on the issues.

"Yes, she had proof of that as well. Two ships are known to have escaped into space immediately before the destruction of the mass driver. One was the apparently _former_ Federation battleship _Archangel_. The other belongs to Aube but no identification was made. Two new mobile suits are also known to have been at that battle are believed to have left with the Aube ships. One is the Freedom, a prototype stolen from right here. That is the theft that led to accusing Clyne of treason. The other is the Justice. That suit was given to Zala's son, Athrun, with orders to hunt down and recapture or destroy the Freedom. There is now some question about his interpretation of his father's orders."

"Is there any word on who Freedom's pilot is?"

"No Lance, your mother didn't have that name." Dr. Ito brightened. "Although you might find it interesting to know that one of her agents has learned that the Hawk of Endymion was at the Battle of Aube. He has exchanged his mobile armor for a mobile suit. He is now the pilot of a unit called the Strike, one of the five Earth Alliance suits Heliopolis was destroyed to obtain. Strike's initial pilot now flies Freedom. That much we did learn about him."

Adrian's head came up with a snap. "The Hawk is a Natural! What's he doing in a mobile suit? They're just too complex for Naturals to operate effectively!"

"Ah, it seems someone at Morgenroete has developed an operating system that compensates for the limitations of a Natural. Aube was defended by its own small army of mobile suits." His grandfather replied briskly.

"Aube welcomes Coordinator and Natural alike. Her people are fiercely loyal to their nation because their nation is loyal to them." Grayhawk suddenly contributed. "An Aube suit doesn't mean a Natural pilot."

Dr. Ito stopped and focused on the raven haired girl, who stared back at him defiantly. Adrian wanted to put a hand on her shoulder in warning but didn't think it would be either appreciated or heeded. Grandfather looked at someone like that only when he was seeing something special in genetics. He'd never liked that look; he really didn't like seeing it directed at Kayla.

"No," Dr. Ito agreed slowly. "An Aube suit does not assure a Natural pilot of course. However, Mu La Flaga, the Hawk of Endymion, most definitely is a Natural. There is a bit of his performance in Strike on the record the agent sent up. It is very impressive. Man has a sincere destructive streak. Fortunately, this time he was using it on the Federation."

He turned to Adrian. "I have the results from the _Ballard_ of course, and the second sample they sent. I've already run the cross-match against that. The compatibility factors are excellent. I will start the confirmation tests today."

"Yeh, rah." Kayla got more contempt into two words than most could into a complete speech. "You got a ram and a ewe. Whoopee. Mind telling the ewe how many lambs you're planning on?"

The look on Grandfather's face was priceless. How long had it been since anyone had treated him with anything but respect and deference? A very long time to judge by the shock Adrian was seeing now. He recovered quickly though. It did not do to underestimate Grandfather.

"Two," he replied bluntly. "One, ah, ram and another ewe."

"You have the ethics of a toxic waste dump, you know that right?"

Roland Ito snorted. "Oh no girl, you have no idea what a genuine set of such ethics look like. Mine are simply bent to survival, nothing more. If we all live through this war, I'll tell you where you can go to see what _real_ toxic ethics look like. It will give you an entirely new outlook on human greed and a completely new definition of depravity."

"Wonderful, I'm looking forward to it." Kayla said quietly.

"Are you indeed?" The old man enquired with mock politeness.

"Yeah. You said after the war didn't you? Means I'd be alive to see it."

All trace of mockery vanished. He looked at her even more intently than before. She met his gaze with the same defiance she had earlier.

"I must remember not to take you too lightly." The old man's eyes flicked to Adrian. "You have made an extraordinary find in this one."

He just nodded, not trusting his voice. He discovered he wanted to hit his Grandfather right across the face for everything that statement implied. What the hell was wrong with him?

"We have been here long enough. It will not be wise to make any mention of the subjects we have been discussing other than the genetic one. Come, there are things for all of us to do." Dr. Ito waved them all toward the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well now I'm up to just over 550 'hits' and a whopping 3 reviews. For those of you reading the story, be glad I'm not a 'review blackmail' author!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Well, it was a considerable improvement over the isolation room in the _Ballard_'s sick bay. The bed was comfortable, there was a very comfortable sitting chair with a reading table and light and the room had its own bath. There was a small side table and chair set in front of the windows where she was told her meals would be served. The 'windows' were very well done vidplate fakes that showed a wide lawn overlooking a busy lake. The images looked real enough, but she'd be very surprised if they were local. There were no people in uniforms out there and they'd been entering a ZAFT base when Captain Thoms had cut the view in the transport.

There had been a kind of grand tour given by one of the area supervisors, a gentle faced older lady with copper hair and soft green eyes called Serin. She was going to be one of her 'guardians' while she was here. For all that Serin was actually the jailor; Kayla decided she was a rather nice person to have for a guide. At least she was willing to answer all the questions she asked, even if sometimes the answer was that she wasn't allowed to answer. Kayla made no attempt to find out what Serin's physical skills were. It wasn't time for that yet.

She was permitted access to a small library, a video room, and a surprisingly well set up game room. There was a physical fitness room around somewhere but she decided to skip that and Serin hadn't insisted. She hadn't met anyone else who was 'in the Program' as it were yet and from what Serin had let drop, she likely wouldn't for a bit. There had been one stop at a medical facility for a simple blood sample draw and that was it for the moment. Her meals would be provided in her room and she could sit back and relax for a while as the tests took a while to run. She wondered how long 'a while' really was.

A check through the library was instructional. These people did not want their sheep getting all riled up. The books were mostly inoffensive novels. What history there was was ancient, pre-twentieth century. There was nothing in it that could relate to the current conflict at all. The popular science stuff was similarly culled of anything that might cause controversy. There just were no biographies for anyone who hadn't been dead at least three hundred years. The best that could be said for it was it wasn't propaganda.

The video room was very similar to the library. Once again, if it might cause controversy or upset the sheep, it wasn't on the shelf. Still, the selection was surprisingly wide as they had left a lot of antique classics available. There was more hope of finding something interesting here than in the library; she would have to comb the place more thoroughly later.

The game room had something of just about everything, including, rather to her surprise, a very wide variety of combat games. Well, even sheep needed to take their sublimated aggression out somewhere.

She was way in the back of the place when she found a simulator she didn't think should be there. This one didn't have the look of a game unit. It had military training written all over its design and layout. What it looked like was the extracted cockpit of a mobile suit.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There was no one around to tell her no. Kayla gave the hatch lock a try. It opened on the first attempt.

She was looking into a mobile suit cockpit all right. No, this was no game unit. Not even for Coordinators was this a game unit. She'd been in a real GINN cockpit after all and this was a near duplicate of Ito's machine.

She climbed in and slid into the seat. An overabundance of controls and screens confronted her. She studied the daunting array carefully, trying to make sense of it. Gradually the logic of the layout became clearer. Before long she knew she could shut down most of these systems for training purposes to concentrate on learning how to make the thing move. The setup was very different from her mobile armor but the basic needs were similar. Indeed, a lot of what she knew would transfer readily. The question was, could she do it fast enough to work a Coordinator machine?

She turned everything off and climbed back out thoughtfully. This could be important, damned important. How closely was she going to be monitored? She didn't know. Nor did she know if she was going to have a schedule or much of anything else yet. But she did know if she could, she was going to come back and use this machine. Oh, yes, she would be back. And perhaps, if she could learn what it could teach, and if she could get out of this place, she could also get off the Plant. Besides, it would let her occupy her mind with something other than the disturbingly interesting images of a mahogany haired Coordinator that had been taking over more and more of her brain this last week.

* * *

"Grandfather." Adrian tried for the third time to get Dr. Ito's attention.

"I am busy. I told you I would be with you as soon as I finished. Now cultivate patience!"

Cultivate patience, always cultivate patience, did Grandfather have no other advice to offer? Did he have any idea how boring it was to be cooped up in this lab watching someone doing painstaking work you didn't understand, passionately didn't ever _want_ to understand, and couldn't help with? There were reasons why he hadn't gone into genetics in school after all! Mobile suits were much more his thing than lab benches. But moving his grandfather into a faster gear was well beyond him in this situation so he did the only thing he could, he waited.

"Alright, I've finished. Come to my office. There are comfortable chairs there. These stools are only good for making sure you don't fall asleep while watching test batches run."

He could agree with that. His butt was more uncomfortable after half an hour in this lab than it usually got after a couple hours of combat. And that knees spread position flying a GINN demanded got old after a while.

He coaxed the recalcitrant tea dispenser into releasing two large cups worth. Grandfather was always more willing to talk when he had tea at hand to sip. He poured in the creamer the old man had taken to adding in recent years, wondering once again how anyone could drink it like that, and carried it over to his desk before seating himself in the better of the two chairs not covered in notes or printouts.

A pair of DNA holograms were spiraling up from projection plates on the desk. Dr. Ito was watching them turn, his eyes jumping back and forth between them as he made some comparison only he could see. They were just colored shapes to Adrian and he'd fought very hard to keep them that way for years.

"You may have refused to join the family trade Adrian, but you seem to have learned a thing or two despite yourself."

"And that means what this time sir?"

"Your Earth Forces Lieutenant is a serious gem. I couldn't have done a better job of cleaning trash out of her genome than someone else has already done for me. I see no signs of any enhancements at all, just good, solid cleanup. She's not going to need any further work done on her material. Theoretically, you could do this the old fashioned way and produce healthy, Coordinator children with a Natural source this clean. I would, however, hesitate to bet on that theory myself." His grandfather's eyes never left the holograms he was studying.

"Why?" Adrian asked curiously.

"Why what?"

"Why hesitate to bet on the theory? Why wouldn't it work? Don't enhanced genetics dominate the non-enhanced every time? That's what they insisted in school."

The hologram stopped moving and his grandfather actually looked at him in mild surprise. "You paid enough attention to remember that? Given your stubborn determination not to learn anything about the subject, you amaze me that anything stuck at all."

He turned the images back on. "Unfortunately, while the schools insist on teaching that as an immutable truth, it isn't. In some, admittedly exceedingly rare cases, enhanced genetics have not dominated the non-enhanced. Since this is about the revival of my family line, I really don't see the point in taking even so rare a risk. Do you understand now?"

"Translation, the Grayhawk genetics are also very strong, very healthy, and might have more vitality than ours."

He was on the receiving end of a very unamused stare. "That was very rudely put."

"Yes, but I notice you didn't say it was wrong."

"No, I did not." The old man conceded. "Now, before you can go on, I have already determined that her cycle is due in the next two days. Your arrival time is therefore very fortuitous. The drug to stimulate additional egg release was administered two days ago by the medical team on the _Ballard_. We shall wait to see what we get shortly. This means by the by, that I will need your contribution no later than the day after tomorrow. If all goes normally, she will be pregnant by possibly as soon as the beginning of next week."

He stared at the far wall. By the beginning of the next week. Six days away. Grandfather was working very fast. Why? And why did this whole thing bother him so?

"Aren't you expecting a lot of the drugs? Four days isn't much time for them to work."

"Yes, yes, I know." Grandfather was frowning at the holograms now but the frown wasn't meant for them. "You don't understand the changes in fertility produced by the kind of drastic genetic cleanup the Grayhawk's have done to themselves. I would wager it is a very large family in her generation and there are several sets of twins. I suspect she is well supplied with aunts and uncles and cousins too. They are _healthy_, Adrian, healthy in a way humans have never been before. Healthy in almost the same way we are actually when you come right down to it. But we've lost many of the benefits of that health with our obsession over being so multi-talented."

He looked up again, his own golden eyes stabbing into Adrian's with an intensity he was completely unused to seeing from the old man. "She should be producing at least two fully fertile eggs a cycle. If she is anything like the others I've studied with such cleansed genetics, she will have stages when she will be putting out five to eight a cycle. She's the right age to be at or close to such a stage now. If so, the drugs will simply assure any egg close to maturity completes its development and is shed this cycle. I want as many as I can get before we shut off the supply by inducing pregnancy."

There was something in the voice. It went with the sense of haste and wrongness that had been nibbling on him ever since they'd arrived. This was supposed to be a very large Project, yet he'd hardly seen a dozen people. The sense of occupancy that a busy Project should give the place was absent as well everywhere but the clinic itself. Had, . . . . . . .

"Grandfather, has Chairman Zala shut the Project down?"

"Of course not! What maggot is eating your brain now?"

"Then where is everyone? Why didn't you give me the tour you promised me if I found a really good candidate? And what is the rush? Grayhawk isn't going anywhere. You could collect for a couple of months if you needed to before starting the children." He leaned forward to give the older man a very hard stare. "What is wrong? And don't say nothing. I'm not five any more. I won't buy it."

Roland shut the holograms off completely. He faced his grandson with a flat, unreadable face as he returned the intense study he was getting from Adrian. They had parted eight months ago very much elder and child in their relationship. But there had been some serious changes in himself in that time; Adrian knew he would never deal with his grandfather as a child again.

"So," he said slowly, "I sent out a boy and have back a warrior."

"There is something about killing to survive that makes changes in a person." Lieutenant Ito replied quietly.

"Ah, they call it war. It has been making such changes ever since the first hominid picked up a rock and brained another to secure food, shelter or a mate."

"Let's agree that I've changed and keep to the issue at hand, Grandfather. What's wrong?"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What's wrong he asks. Nothing and everything. We are still fully funded. We are officially approved although the Chairman will not discuss us with anyone. We have unquestioned access to any and all captured female Earth Forces soldiers. All is as it should be."

"Yeah, and what is not as it should be?"

The eyes closed and the face collapsed into near despair. "It isn't going to work. They hate and fear us so; they would rather be dead than produce a Coordinator child. I have nearly three hundred and seventy embryos fully ready to implant, to develop into the children we _need_. And I can not find the Natural women to bear them. The Project is a remarkably successful failure."

Adrian was confused and left with the distinct impression he was coming in on the middle of a much longer story. "I don't understand. I thought you had all the women you wanted. Has the Council restricted your access to female prisoners of war?"

"Oh, no. We have access to whomever we want who meets the genetic criteria." Dr. Ito replied wearily. "The problem is, they fail your mother's psych tests. Very dramatically fail them. If we were to attempt to force these women we have taken the eggs from to become pregnant, we would have multiple suicides and highly innovative means worked out to cause miscarriage or abortions. The actual birth rate would be one in fifty. The loss rate anticipated is impossible. The Council _would_ shut the Project down if we had a death rate like that."

"Oh." Now it made sense. He'd seen first hand just how irrationally terrified many of the Earth Alliance forces were of Coordinators. The propaganda of Blue Cosmos painted them as something vastly inhuman disguised in an attractive human package intended to lull unsuspecting Naturals into trusting them before taking what ever kind of peculiar advantage of them that particular propaganda sheet was aimed at.

A lot of it, in point of fact, was all about sexual abuse and how Coordinators wanted to use Naturals to make more 'space monsters'. He remembered a group of young soldiers, trapped against a cliff, who had chosen to jump to their deaths rather than allow themselves to be captured. Yes, he could believe the Project had hit exactly the roadblock Grandfather described.

"Have, . . . . , have there been any successes at all?" He asked uncertainly.

"One." Dr. Ito smiled bitterly. "The two of them were already more than half in love with each other. She was willing to have his baby, he insisted on marrying her. The Council was not amused but agreed to it as he had no good match anywhere in the Plants so no Coordinator woman was being denied a husband."

"And Kayla? What are your plans for her?"

His grandfather looked up with a sharp frown. "Eh?"

"What do you plan to do with Kayla?"

"Kayla? Not, Lieutenant Grayhawk?"

"All right, if you prefer; what are your plans for Lieutenant Grayhawk?" Adrian could feel his patience slipping and heard the anger in his own voice this time.

There was a very long silence, then Roland noted softly, "So, that's the way of it is it? Are you sure of this? She is an Earth Forces officer and a Natural, Adrian. Be very careful where you give your heart."

"I didn't give it Grandfather, it walked out on its own!"

What the hell was he _saying_? Adrian wanted nothing more in that moment than to be able to rewind time by only a few seconds and reclaim those words. He could not have said that! He was a ZAFT officer, a Coordinator! He believed in his people and in their right to exist with all his heart and soul. But with those words he'd just said he was putting a Natural girl equal to everything else he valued in the universe. An enemy soldier in time of war, equal to all of ZAFT, the Plants, Coordinators. What kind of treason was his mouth spitting out?

But Grandfather's face suddenly brightened with an amazing understanding. What was he understanding? Whatever it was, Adrian didn't understand it himself!

"Ah, so that _is_ the way of it!" Roland Ito turned to him with the strangest combination of sympathy and congratulations his grandson had ever seen. "I see you are confused. Let me explain. You do remember what pheromones are, yes?"

"Well, yes, of course. Chemical messages essentially. Most commonly associated with insect communication although just about every species alive that spends any time in an air environment uses them at least some of the time. We have some too."

"We most definitely do. The most powerful of them are sexual attractants and those that create emotional bonds. Tell me, were you both under any extraordinary stress when you met? There has to have been some, one does not capture an enemy soldier in time of war at a garden party after all, but was this an unusually high stress setting?"

A chaotic mental cascade of images from the attack at Josh-A crashed through his mind. Unusual stress? Yes, he would call that attack and its aftermath very unusual stress!

"That would be one way to put it." He said with feeling. "It was at the attack at the Earth Alliance Alaska Headquarters, Josh-A. I chased her all over the sky before I finally could get a target lock and shoot her down. Then that new mobile suit, Freedom, suddenly warns everyone about the Cyclops bomb under the base! I had maybe five seconds to make a decision. I grabbed her because she's the kind of enemy I respect – well, that and because she's incredibly beautiful. I had a crazy fight on the lower hatch of my GINN just to get her into the cockpit. At the same time the Cyclops was going off behind us and we were running for our lives. There was more excitement on the way back to the carrier; I ran across the legged ship and Freedom, just me and my one GINN against the two of them. Thank gods they didn't want a fight! Some other minor things happened, yeah, there was stress."

"And for this time, you and your prisoner were together in the small cockpit of the GINN?"

"I had her on my lap. There was no other place to put her."

"Pheromones, beyond question it is the pheromones. You had your helmet off at one point didn't you? And you took hers off too."

"Yes. Actually, she took hers off before I captured her."

"So there was an unimpeded air path between you, a very short air path at that, while you both were being exposed to severe, life threatening dangers and the undeniable physical attractions of each other." Dr. Ito nodded briskly. "You did have an opportunity to do some minor examination did you not? An opportunity she has not shared?"

"Ah, I had to collect her id tag if that's what you mean." Adrian could feel his face getting red.

"And how far did you look for it?"

"Grandfather!"

"I ask because I am curious as to how quickly the pheromones began to affect you." He wagged a finger at his blushing grandson. "You have a very firmly rooted sense of honor Adrian. There are things you simply would not allow yourself to do in a normal situation. You were in a far from normal situation that day. If she had been in combat and a fight with you, she was heated and with no helmet on, already giving off ample pheromones. Now, I am waiting for your answer."

He sighed and gave in. "An Earth Forces flight suit has a very stiff upper breast section, like ours do. It's rather small on an EA man's suit. The women's model however is intended to provide all the, ah, support she could need in a combat situation. Their flight suits fit fairly snugly and I've noticed that most female pilots don't bother with, uhm, specific undergarments."

His grandfather didn't say anything, just waited expectantly. "I, ah, I, . . . . . , oh hell! I tried them for size and they fit very nicely in my hands. Is that what you wanted to know?"

"Exactly what I wanted to know. I assume she was not conscious at the time of this, eh, evaluation?"

"No!"

"How long did it take you to complete your – appraisal?"

"Few minutes." Adrian mumbled.

"Your conclusion?"

He just looked up. He didn't know what his face or eyes said. His grandfather however did develop a small half smile.

"That is a good enough answer."

"I didn't say anything!"

Roland Ito sipped his tea calmly, then noted, "Sometimes, boy, words really aren't necessarily as useful an answer as body posture and the look in a person's eyes."

He must be red all the way to his toes. This was the single most embarrassing conversation he'd ever had. Worse, he had no idea at all what he'd just told Grandfather.

* * *

There was something wrong with this setup. This was her seventh day here now and she'd not met another girl trapped in this Project yet. Her room was on a very short hallway, there were only two others on either side and hers on the end, but both of those seemed to be empty. She had access to three other living quarters' hallways and there was no sign of life on any of them either.

Meals were always served in her room. Yet there was a dining room for this block of twelve rooms at the end of the main corridor. She'd never seen the door unlocked or the window curtains up.

It was like that with the staff too. She saw the same three people every day. There were no new faces. And they covered all the jobs around here, including the library, video and game rooms as well as being her escorts on visits to the clinic and bringing her all her meals. They were very polite but they weren't much on casual conversation. Serin was the only one who would exchange more than a couple of words at a time with her and even she didn't talk all that much. She was willing to listen though whenever Kayla needed to vent.

The entire place had an air of disuse that was out of place for something as big as this Ito Project was supposed to be. Yet the clinic itself was definitely not out of use. That part of the building appeared to be full staffed and damn busy. It was the hallways between her room and the clinic that rang so hollow.

It was after lunch now. Unless the routine was going to change, there should be no one bothering her for at least three to four hours now. She headed for the game room. It had become a refuge from a portion of her own mind she was trying very hard to clamp a lid on. In there, she was fully occupied with a seriously challenging activity that might be a key to escape. It took every scrap of her attention while she was there and the analysis afterwards could keep her brain busy for hours more. It was important, honestly important, work she was doing. That it also drowned out increasingly intrusively traitorous thoughts of an amber-eyed Coordinator and _very_ detailed fantasies of things she could do with him was not something she permitted herself to consider.

The disuse was perhaps even more obvious in the game room. The machines were kept dusted and cleaner 'bots did the floors but that didn't keep the dust from accumulating in the corners. She hadn't noticed it on her first pass through but when she'd actually sat to try out a few of the games, it became clear no one was playing them on any kind of regular basis. It had been her first big hint that all was not as described here.

But she no longer paid it any mind in here. No one had said a word about her use of the GINN simulator. No one seemed to care and they had to know what she was doing. Or if they did care, they seemed to think she was banging her head against a brick wall so it wasn't worth worrying about. Ha! Little did they know!

Kayla climbed in and settled herself comfortably in the pilot's seat. She knew where all the gear for this unit was now. She took the helmet and half-suit out of the locker that was built into the 'control bay' on her right hand and put it on before she secured the safety harness. Now the half-suit, really no more than a chest and back flap that reached just below her waist, was held solidly in place and the helmet wouldn't bobble. She closed the locker and the illusion of being in a real cockpit was complete again.

Now-experienced hands began to flip toggles and tap the buttons that brought the simulator to life. The heads-up display in the helmet came on and the exterior screens began to show her what lay 'outside' the GINN. As always, she was starting in a ground base hanger.

For ten minutes, Kayla let all the systems run at normal operating capacity. The data flow was overwhelming. She took in as much as she could, sorting and trying to understand it all as fast as it was presented. She was getting better at this each time she did it. Better, yes, but good enough to let the full system run while trying to actually _do_ something, ah, no, not yet.

At the ten minute mark, she began to shut down the least essential reporting systems one at a time until she was sure she could process the information flow and still truly do something at the same time. It wasn't until a solid quarter of her boards were dark that she felt she could manage that trick.

Slowly and carefully, she walked the simulated GINN out of the hanger. Once outside, she joined a line of other 'trainees' and began to try to follow the instructions of the Master Chief teaching this 'class' of brand new recruits. An exhausting two hours of chaos was under way.

Her whole body was drenched in sweat and shaking by the time the 'class' was over. The Master Chief had called her just about every name in the book at least once, used her as a bad example for the class five times, and told her to go back to mommy a round dozen times. It was her best performance yet. Today she hadn't fallen on her own, hadn't tripped anyone else, hadn't shot any other cadet – either by accident or on purpose – and had managed to lift off the ground, hover, and safely land.

She was the worst in the 'class' by a fair margin. But she could make the GINN move with reasonable smoothness and she could now get it off the ground and safely back. Not bad for a brain-deficient Natural working with Coordinator software.

If she hadn't had a year's worth of combat experience in mobile armor, this would be impossible. She was using every skill she'd developed in the Zero nearly to the max to do this much. And she could just about make it walk correctly so far. Moving and doing anything else was out of the question right now. Still, this was a hell of a lotta progress for just seven days!

Tired hands shut down the simulator. Kayla unfastened the safety harness and pulled the helmet and half-suit off. There was cleaning gear in the locker and she used it. She was coming back tomorrow. This thing would be a stinky horror if she failed to disinfect it right now. So, weary as she was, the job got done and done right before she stowed it away.

She stumbled back to her room and a hot shower. Followed by clean clothes and large, fairly sugar heavy snack. Then she took a nap. She was tired enough that the sleep was dreamless.


	9. Chapter 9

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I will stop grousing about reviews now and just let people do as they please. Thanks to everyone who did respond, individual replies have been sent, and to the three who put this on their favorites.

I will be out of town over New Years. Updates will therefore be delayed as the computer will be in one state while I'm in another. I will post a chunk of what's ready before I go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Adrian set the glass down carefully. His mother didn't ask him over to dinner on casual whim these days. She very seriously disapproved of his choice to enter the active military. As the only surviving son of a Junius Seven family, he'd had the option to elect to serve in any of the vital defense industries instead. That he'd chosen the risks of combat over the security of his family name had not sat well with Mother.

Privately, he was of the opinion that Mother was more concerned with keeping the family going than she was with his happiness. He hadn't chosen mobile suits over a defense job solely out of some misplaced sense of idiot heroism as she seemed to think. No, mobile suits kept Helen Rince off his neck and that was worth the risks of combat any time.

It might have been different if there had been more than one choice available. But the genetic matching for reproduction the government did had only found him one acceptable partner in the whole of the Plants. This was an uncommon but growing problem; the one Grandfather's work was supposed to cure eventually.

However, it was not a cure available for him at present. And he really didn't like the artificial little fool. The thought of being stuck with her for the rest of his life made him sick to his stomach. Between mobile suits and Helen Rince, the GINN won every time. He just wished Mother would try and understand. She was a psychologist, there was absolutely no reason she couldn't see that he couldn't stand Helen!

"Did you enjoy the soup?"

He looked up, not sure what she'd just asked him. "Sorry, Mother, my mind was elsewhere."

"Yes, I noticed." She smiled gently at him. "I asked if you liked the soup. It is one of Jenna's newest recipes."

He looked down at the empty bowl. He didn't really remember what it tasted like, it had made that little impression on him. The few bits and pieces still clinging to the sides of the dish gave him some idea of what kind of soup it had been, something with too many onions in it again, but not what the flavor was.

"I see that this is another complete miss for you." She chuckled quietly. "I should know better than use you as a taste tester."

He tried to find a polite way to say it but when no idea would come, chose direct instead. "Mother, Jenna has no idea what to do with any food item that isn't an onion. And even with onions, the only flavor she can think to put with them is more onion."

She giggled, her soft green eyes alight with mischief. "Oh, Adrian, that was not kind of you! Honest, yes, honest to a fault, but not kind. Whatever am I to do with you?"

"Not make a lab rat of my taste buds? That way I won't have to think of polite ways to say it wasn't great?"

She laughed. "Very well. I promise I will not inflict any more experimental dishes on you tonight."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Oh, I will not make any promises about the future. Those might be too hard to keep."

He nodded glumly, taking what tiny victories he could get when dining with his mother.

"You might be interested to know I heard from Arno Rince the other day."

Helen's father? No, he didn't care if anyone ever heard from that pompous old windbag ever again. But at least she'd let them get most of the way through the start of the meal before she ruined the rest of the food with the latest on the Rince saga.

"Was it worth the conversation?" He asked neutrally.

She frowned slightly at him. "Actually, from your standpoint, it was. I am quite aware you are not enamored with Helen. So perhaps it will please you to hear her father is requesting I withdraw your name as a candidate for her. It seems he favors another of her possible matches more highly now than he does a mobile suit pilot."

There was too a God and He had finally taken pity on one Adrian Ito! He was aware of the broad smile of delight that plastered itself across his face. He was also aware of the look of irritation on his mother's. Unfortunate, but his face was out of his control at this moment. He hadn't been this happy to hear someone didn't want him in years.

"You agreed, didn't you?" He asked eagerly.

"Yes," she sighed, "I agreed. There was no point in trying to hold him to the tentative proposal with you so set against it if he wanted out as well."

"Yes!" Adrian shouted happily, tossing his napkin in the air.

A hand slammed hard onto the table, cutting off his brief celebration. There was real anger in his mother's eyes now and in the tension-laden way she leaned toward him. All right, that napkin toss had been a big mistake on his part.

"Adrian, just what are you so happy about? She was the only girl in the Plants you could marry! Where are you going to find a wife? How had you planned to have any children?"

"I'll try Aube after this war is over." He told her soberly. "There are a lot of Coordinator families living there. I have a much higher chance of finding a good match if I look for a first or second generation girl anyway and they're rare here in the Plants."

"The Earth Alliance just invaded Aube." His mother pointed out coldly. "There may well not be any Coordinators left there when they're done. The invasion was directed by Azriel of Blue Cosmos himself. You know what that will mean for any of our kind he finds."

Yes, he knew that all too well. But he hadn't known that the Blue Cosmos monstrosity was leading the invasion of that neutral nation himself. He could only pity any Aube Coordinator that thing's beasts got hold of.

"Then I'll keep looking." He finally replied. "Because until I find someone _I'm_ compatible with, there aren't going to be any children anyway. I won't bring them into this life if there is no love for them to find and share."

He looked up at his mother. "I won't accept less than what you and Father had."

She nodded, looking somewhat stricken at his blunt mention of his father. Yes, he'd done a perfect job of hurting her here tonight. But it was true. He wanted the kind of partnership his parents had had. Why should he have to accept anything less? Yes, and why when he said that in his mind did the keen-eyed face of Kayla Grayhawk suddenly appear? Was Grandfather right with his talk about pheromones? No matter, he was _not_ going to mention a Natural, Earth Forces officer to his mother as _any_ kind of possibility. Any more than he planned to tell her where he was going after dinner.

* * *

The click of the dinner tray being placed on the table woke her. Kayla didn't move or open her eyes more than the tiny slit necessary to identify which of the women had brought the meal. Nor did her guardian seem to feel she had to wake her prisoner to eat. There were warmer units in the base of the tray; the food would keep for some time. Still, it did smell good and she was aware of being hungry. So very shortly after the woman left, Kayla sat up, swung her feet out, and slid off the bed.

One thing she did have to say for the Ito Project, it fed its subjects well. Kayla wasn't sure just what the meat was but it was tender and flavorful. The vegetables were fresh, beautifully presented and also very savory. The bread tasted like it had just come out of the oven. They even included butterscotch pudding for desert today. It was as good as the rest of the meal. If she wasn't putting all that effort into the GINN simulator, she'd likely gain weight here eating like this.

She was sitting back, watching the now empty lake drift into dusk when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She sat up immediately. These were not the footsteps of any of the three of her regular guardians. These had the distinct click of military issue boots. The pace was a military one too. Whoever it was, they appeared to be alone.

Kayla stepped away from the table, taking the spoon and the glass with the last inch or so of water in it with her. This could be nothing or it could be serious trouble. She set herself in place four feet in from the doorway but well to the right. One would expect trouble from the left, the side one could not see on approach.

"Lieutenant Grayhawk?"

Oh, Ito. Her heart missed a beat. She weighed tossing the water on him just for spite and decided against it. He was not only fast, he knew her well enough to maybe expect it and evade it. Missing would not only take all the fun out of it, it would leave her open to retaliation.

"Is this a social call or do you have something else in mind?" She asked as she stepped forward, flipping the spoon in one hand to suggest to him that she was not happy to see him. A damn lie that, she was appalled to realize just how happy she actually was to see him again.

"Social, just social." He replied calmly. "I thought you might appreciate an opportunity to walk in the gardens. They are not open to you unescorted according to Grandfather. And somehow, I do not think you are one to enjoy being shut up inside."

She was thinking of a retort when she stopped to actually look at him. And blinked. There had been a decided change of wardrobe here.

Kayla grabbed the chance to openly stare him up and down. Damn! Who would have thought it would have gone with that hair? But remarkably, the two reds didn't clash at all. And Ito was exactly the kind of man the ZAFT Elite uniform had been designed to flatter. It emphasized his shoulders and narrow waist. Seen slightly from the side like this, it was obvious he had good chest development and no ass at all. He'd been a luscious eyeful in the standard green; he was one fine prize ram indeed in that red. Really, that outfit made her want to peal him out of it and . . . . . . .

She stopped as she realized just where her mind had gone again. What the hell was the matter with her? Couldn't she keep her brain out of the gutter for five minutes in this man's company? Maybe she could do something with her brain, eventually, but her body definitely regretted knowing there wasn't supposed to be any sex involved here. Ahhhhhh! He was going to drive her nuts just standing there!

She hoped desperately none of her thoughts were showing on her face as she raised one eyebrow and managed to ask coolly. "Something you did recently?"

"The official documents note it as 'maturing into the responsibility'. I'm hardly the only one either. The losses we've taken have required replacements. I knew I was close to qualifying, I hadn't thought I'd made it though."

"Uhm." Kayla muttered, then spoke a bit more clearly. "So, do you feel it earned or was it handed out as political candy?"

The amber eyes went flat for a second before he acknowledged the legitimacy of the question. "No, I've worked for this. And as I said, I knew I was close. I doubt this is 'political candy' as you call it. I scored far too well when I took the test four months ago."

"A walk in the gardens, eh?"

"Yes. They are actually quite beautiful right now."

There was something more here. He wanted to tell her something, she could see it. Perhaps the walls in here had ears? That wouldn't be surprising.

"Fresh air would be a nice change." She agreed, stepping over to put the glass and spoon on the counter in the bath before joining Adrian in the hall.

He led her through a set of familiar halls to a door she'd always found locked. He had a passkey. So the door directly opposite the game room led to the outside. That might be useful to know sometime.

It was dusk; the gardens should have been dim and grayed out. To her amazement, they were nothing of the sort. Perhaps half the growth here literally glowed in the dark in a glittering array of jewel colors. Small lights outlined the paths. Night flying pollinators were already out among the blooms. Some were quite large and beautiful themselves.

"Oh, . . . . . . , my!" Kayla breathed softly.

"Come, I'll show you all of it." Adrian said quietly.

"Yes, I'd love to see it."

He kept his word. They wandered the carefully laid out paths slowly as he pointed out the various plants and some of the insects. He answered as many of her questions as he could; admitting readily when he didn't know something. She learned this was an experimental site, carefully controlled to prevent contamination leaking out to the rest of the Plant. It really didn't have to be anymore, all of the plants and insects here were now approved for distribution, but the habit of control for any experimental site died hard in an ecology as delicately balanced as a Plant's was.

Eventually, they reached the bottom of the gardens. There was a very high wall that appeared to be built of stone, several trees of a scale to match the wall, and two small but comfortable looking benches with deeply carved backs. She could not make out the designs well in the poor light.

"Please, sit." Ito waved to the closer of the benches. "We need to talk."

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to get around to that."

"Yes, well, sorry. I don't know where or even if there are pick-ups in the building but it would be reasonable to expect them."

"I simply assumed they were there." Kayla noted as she sat.

The bench was as comfortable as it looked. And as small. When Ito sat beside her, there was no room between them. For a few seconds they tried sitting with both hands in their laps, then Ito simply accepted the reality of the situation and put his arm behind her back.

Kayla considered shifting to the other bench but it was too far away. Still, she was acutely aware of that arm. She remembered watching moths kill themselves flying into the flame of a candle in her Grandmother's summer cabin once as a child. Now why the hell was she so damn sure Ito was a candle and she a moth? Maybe because he was one for her and she was one around him?

"And the subject is?" She prodded. The sooner this was over, the sooner that very disturbing arm would go away; the less likely she was to betray herself to him.

"The Ito Project." He replied.

"Oh, yeah, I've been wanting to ask someone where everyone else was."

He gave an oddly bitter snort. "At the moment, you're the whole Project."

Kayla stared at him. "You wanna run that one by me again?"

"You are the entire Project at the moment." Adrian repeated. "There are no other women being held here at this time."

She chewed on that datum for a few seconds, decided it was too lonely to do her any good and turned back to him. "You want to start at the beginning here and make some sense?"

He sighed. "It's very simple really. Grandfather's idea is perfect genetically. It should be, he's a genius in the field. But he's something of a disaster at interpersonal relationships or at judging how people will react to any given situation. To make a long story short, he was forced to abandon much of his plan. Psychological testing proved no Natural he selected as a genetic source was going to tolerate being pregnant with a Coordinator baby. They would have chosen suicide before they delivered any 'space monsters'. He has continued to seek out good candidates and to collect genetic material. But he has no means of getting the resulting embryo's implanted anywhere to grow into babies. He has close to four hundred that need host mothers."

Kayla winced at the way he spit out 'space monsters' but knew he was right. There was just too much misunderstanding and outright lies standing between Naturals and Coordinators right now for there to be any other reaction from most people. She was very much aware how rare her own outlook on his people was back home. Nor was it all the fault of Blue Cosmos. No, the arrogant boasting of the Coordinators themselves played a big part in this attitude too. The misapprehensions on both sides were there because _some_ on both sides wanted them; felt they needed them to defend their own outlook. What was that line from the old play that applied here? Ah, yeah, 'a plague on both your houses!' That about summed the whole attitude thing up right there.

The Project was a failure then? Or was it? Maybe it was more on hold than anything else. At least she knew why the place has such a deserted feeling to it now.

"And what about me, eh?"

"The genetic material has been collected." Ito looked at her briefly, then turned away. "You weren't awake for that I'm told. Grandfather had you down at the clinic for the last three nights searching for eggs. Apparently your ovulation came a day earlier than he expected. Anyway, he was very happy about it. He recovered eight. Said that was more than he'd been expecting. Found them the first night. So now he's sure he has them all."

She tried to decide what she thought about that but couldn't make her mind give her an answer. "So what's next?"

"Nothing." He ran his free hand through his hair before he balled it into a fist on his left knee. "He isn't going to do anything to you. Don't you understand? There aren't any pregnancies happening."

"So, where does that leave you?"

"Me?" He looked confused.

"Yeah, you. I got the impression the kid was something important to you."

For a very long moment, he said nothing, then replied so softly she almost couldn't hear, "Priorities change. Some risks really are unacceptable."

There was nothing she could say to that. They sat in silence until the evening chill settled in enough to set her shivering. Ito noticed that. They walked back up to the Project dorm wordlessly. He escorted her all the way to her room, bowed politely at the door and left. Kayla stood there, balanced on a knife edge between a genuine fear of what might happen and serious lust. The balance held her immobile long enough for Ito to leave the area. She was able to move again only when she heard the far door close firmly behind him. Not until then was she able to step back and close her own door.

She went to bed but got little sleep. Her nightly fantasies came to haunt her with a new strength. Then too, something was gnawing at her. He'd said something, something she knew was wrong somehow. But damned if she could tease out what it was. Even when she did drop off, her dreams were strange. They woke her early, unable to remember them.

She was shoving breakfast around the plate when at least part of the problem fell into place. As she considered the idea from as many directions as she could, she began to wonder what that old man used his head for besides growing hair. No, maybe that wasn't fair. Adrian _had_ said he was pretty hopeless at judging people's reactions to situations.

Kayla inhaled the rest of the meal and went looking for her guardians, any of them. She found Anya in the video room. She would have preferred Serin but beggars couldn't be choosers. Besides, Anya had a surprisingly limited imagination and so was the least likely to quibble about being asked to take a message to the boss.

"Hello Anya, would you consider doing me a favor?" Kayla asked as politely as she possibly could. "Elite Ito was discussing some things with me yesterday and I may have a solution to a problem he mentioned. Would you inform him of this and perhaps mention this to Dr. Ito as well?"

The Coordinator woman looked at her with neutral eyes. Kayla looked back in a manner she hoped was polite but not pushy. She'd never sought any of these three out to ask them for anything. She was hoping the sheer novelty of the situation might work in her favor.

"The Elite is still here." The woman finally replied. "I see no harm in telling him this."

"Thank you. I appreciate your help." Kayla told her sincerely.

"And where will you be should he chose to respond?"

"Game room."

"Ah," Anya then confirmed Kayla's suspicions by adding, "you waste your time, you know this?"

The mobile armor pilot grinned, a bit razor edged. "Someone put the challenge where I could find it. I'm not going to disappoint them by giving up this quickly."

The Coordinator shrugged. "As you wish."

Kayla merely smiled wolfishly and headed for the game room. She honestly didn't expect Anya to get word to either Ito for a while yet. It would be passed when it was convenient and not ahead of time. There should be time for a full 'class' before anyone came looking for her.


	10. Chapter 10

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I will stop grousing about reviews now and just let people do as they please. Thanks to everyone who did respond, individual replies have been sent, and to the three who put this on their favorites.

I will be out of town over New Years. Updates will therefore be delayed as the computer will be in one state while I'm in another. I will post a chunk of what's ready before I go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

"Elite Ito?"

Adrian turned. The speaker was one of his Grandfather's people, specifically one he knew watched Kayla Grayhawk. He wondered what was going on; they had never come to him before.

"How may I help you Specialist?"

"Lieutenant Grayhawk has asked to speak to you and possibly to Dr. Ito as well. She reports you were discussing some issue last night and a solution has occurred to her. She is currently in the Game Room, in the GINN Training Simulator." The Specialist shook her head in mild disgust. "She's a Natural. She's wasting her time and is eventually going to break her own spirit if she keeps that up long enough. But Dr. Ito does not think any intervention is needed yet."

Adrian felt his eyes widening. "Some idiot put a _what_ in the game room?"

"A GINN Training Simulator, sir."

"A real one?" Please, don't let anyone have been that stupid!

"Yes sir, quite real. The instructors from the base come by and update it every few months."

"What imbecile authorized that!"

The woman suddenly looked affronted. "It was done on Dr. Ito's suggestion."

"Grandfather, it was Grandfather's idea?"

"Yes sir."

"And everyone went along with it?"

"Of course sir! No Natural can actually make any _use_ of it!"

"You haven't faced them in combat." Adrian replied grimly. "There are some who most definitely could learn at least something from a real simulator. And the Tomahawk is one of them! You have to have seen what she could do with something as pathetic as a Moebius Zero to understand just how dangerously competent she really is."

The woman's eyes widened. "Beg your pardon sir, but isn't Lieutenant Grayhawk an administrative officer? All the others who have come here have been administrative personnel."

"No, Lieutenant Grayhawk is combat personnel. Damn fine combat personnel! I captured her at the disaster known as "Operation Spit Break", after she'd shot down three DINNs, one GINN, and managed to disable another GINN! All while flying a wretched Zero! Do not underestimate her. She is highly unlikely to attack anyone here as the situation does not favor her, but if you give her a chance, she will make a break for it. Don't forget that, ever."

"No sir!"

Adrian headed for the game room. A simulator, a _real_ simulator. What the hell had been going through Grandfather's head when he ordered that set up where enemy officers could use it? Damn it! When would people ever learn to stop underrating the Naturals?

He found the simulator in the back of the room. It was closed with the 'test' light lit indicating someone was using it. So Kayla really was trying to learn how to operate a GINN. He shook his head helplessly, how could even Grandfather not have understood how dangerous it was to let her try this?

Adrian paused. There should be an instructor's screen on this. He could watch and find out just how much she was learning here. Maybe, maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought.

He located the instructor's station and slipped into the seat. The headset was one of the newer ones with everything going to the heads-up display. There was no view screen here and no readouts, just the seat and the headset. He put it on and plugged it in.

He was offered a selection of lessons to review. All of them were Kayla's. She'd been using this unit every day for the last eight days now. He picked the overview option to get a feel for what she'd been up to. In a matter of minutes he knew the situation was potentially worse than he'd imagined. She actually _could_ operate a GINN.

Oh, she couldn't do it _well_, mind you. But she could get it to move with enough skill to be mistaken for an advanced cadet. As long as that was the only thing she had to do that is. It was clear she couldn't do two things at once yet, like walk and draw a weapon. But at the rate she was advancing, he wasn't sure she wouldn't be that good in another week. And, ye gods, she could get it off the ground!

She had a terrifying portion of her boards shut down though. The information she wasn't getting was critical. Why had she closed down so many screens?

The test ended. He watched her pull the simulator's gear off, clean it, and stow it. She looked exhausted. She was soaking wet from shoulders to hips wherever the half-suit had covered her. It was obvious these lessons took a lot out of her. But those emerald eyes were on fire and despite the fatigue; there was a very fierce joy in that striking face.

Adrian slid the headset off, unplugged it and leaned against the side of the simulator. Leaving it here would be a very _bad_ idea. He knew it. Yet he was loath to take that joy away from her. He understood just what kind of challenge this was for her. He understood what kind of triumph she was achieving in mastering even the basics of operating a GINN this way. She called herself a ewe, but Kayla Grayhawk was no sheep. She was much more the raptor of her name. And to wing-clip such a flyer was a terrible cruelty. Pulled between duty and something he couldn't really name, Adrian turned and gently but steadily banged his head on the machine.

"You trying to knock some sense into yourself?"

He just leaned his forehead on the cool metal. "You are driving me insane woman."

"Really? Looked like you were doing a fine job all by yourself to me."

He sighed. "Yes, I suppose it would. You sent word that you wanted to see me? Something about a solution to our discussion from last night?"

"Right." She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Look, can we go back to my room? I can wrap up in a couple of large towels there and kick the heat up."

The image her words conjured up hit him solidly. He could feel his body responding very positively to that suggestion. Oh hell, not now. He really didn't need this right now. It was a very good thing the red uniform coat was cut generously in front.

"Yes, let's get out of here." He agreed hastily.

A short while later, he was sitting in the chair while she was indeed wrapped up in a couple large towels. Unfortunately for his imagination, she was still dressed underneath those self-same towels. So much for that lewd delusion. At least reality was encouraging his body to back down. He would do much better at following the conversation as it did so.

"Are you paying attention to a single thing I'm saying?"

"Apologies, no, mind took off on a sidetrack." Adrian forced his attention back where it belonged.

She just shook her head at him. "And you think I drive you nuts. All right, let me start again. Your ethics-challenged Grandfather has had his pet project come to a halt on him. He's still going through the motions but he's getting nowhere he wants to go. Am I right so far?"

"I reserve the right to take up the ethics-challenged issue later but the rest is pretty much spot on, yes."

"The bottleneck is brood ewes, correct?"

"That term bothers me but it is essentially correct so I have to grant it, yes."

She leaned forward, a rather evil glint in her eyes suddenly. "Lemme ask you a dead serious question. Is there some genetic reason the old goat wants Naturals for his brood flock?"

"Ah, not that I know of." Adrian admitted slowly. "The idea was that they were going to be the genetic mothers of the children. The idea of surrogates was never discussed, again that I know of."

"Didn't think so." Grayhawk sat back triumphantly. "Outside genetics, does the crazy old coot use that genius head to do much but grow hair?"

He gave her a very unamused glare. "You have a point here?"

Her face suddenly went as serious as his. "Every society has haves and have-nots. I know very little about how great the spread is between them here on the Plants but I'd be amazed if there wasn't a pretty obvious gap. You tell me, how unattractive is real poverty here?"

"Not as bad as it gets on Earth, that's for sure. But it is not pretty and it is not advertised. The real poor are swept out of sight as much as possible. Why do you need to know that?"

"So something to earn real income, to rise out of that level would be significantly eye-catching?"

"To most, yes. Where are you going please?"

"You aren't using your head to do much but grow abnormally colored hair either, are you? How many hints do I have to drop?"

"Assume I am a brick wall and about as bright. Now spell it out for me!"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You said the Project is fully funded. The Project needs brood ewes. Put carefully worded ads in places the most desperate of the poor will see them and _hire_ yourself a flock! At least you won't have the problem of women objecting to having Coordinator kids since they'll be Coordinators themselves!"

His mouth fell open. How obvious! How simple. How very, very possible to do.

"Got another one for you too."

He looked at her warily. "What problem are you addressing?"

"Your need for new genetics won't end with the war. Assuming both sides don't blow each other to hell, you will still have the same problems you have right now but you won't have any source of supply, right?"

"Correct." He agreed cautiously.

"Contract with several of the larger fertility chains. Buy eggs that have been legally relinquished by the Natural parents before the medical industry gets their share. That way, while expensive, you get the best the fertility clinics can put on the market."

She gave a very thoughtful frown, then added; "You might want to go through a few layers of cover people or dummy companies doing that. It wouldn't be popular at home."

Not popular? Now that _was_ a nicely understated way to put it! If word got out, it would set off planet wide howling rage. On the other hand, given Earth's population and their extensive use of its fertility clinics, if this worked they could have all the genetic variety they needed in a year or two at the most. He looked at her with serious respect.

"You do understand that your suggestions would be seen as outright treason in some quarters?"

She gave him a flat stare. "Yeah. But you see, I have nothing against your existence. I mean just the fact that you Coordinators do exist at all that is. So you guys can do a lot of stuff better than I ever will; lots of my own kind of people can say the same thing. Bet I can track a cougar better than you can. I can find water in the dry country of the Four Corners a lot faster than you will too unless you have a shipload of fancy equipment. And somehow, I doubt most of you can ride a horse, fix a fence, repair a windmill, or slap together a sheep shelter out of whatever is on hand better than I can either. All of those skills are important to keeping my family's sheep operation a going concern. So they matter to me. That you can fly a GINN better than I ever will was not an issue until this war broke out. You weren't in my way or a threat to my way of life. I had nothing to be jealous of. So I'm not. The very few Coordinators I knew growing up were pretty decent people. I always had a positive impression of your folks. Specific individuals aside, I mostly still do."

She grinned wickedly, "Besides, if I help you with this, you'll have less reason to need to bother any of my, ah, less accepting fellow Naturals. The less interactions there are that are controversial, the less chances for more big problems or new wars. So I see this as a means of promoting peace, a very long term means but a real one just the same."

"And you do want peace I take it?" Adrian said drily.

Suddenly all humor vanished. The vivid eyes were once again brilliantly hard gems staring coldly into his own. The change was shocking.

"Yes." She said quietly. "We were fourteen when this war broke out. Five girls, nine boys. We've lost four already. Paul died at the Grimaldi front, trying to be another Hawk of Endymion. Steve fell at Luna One. Mitch and Sandra were both lost when you people took Carpentaria. I have seven brothers and sisters on active duty. Yeah, Ito, I have a damn serious interest in peace. And a bigger interest in seeing that it lasts."

Four dead. Seven still on active duty. She was a prisoner of war. Her family was left with only two children not caught up in this war. He looked away. He understood her situation far too well. The Grayhawks at least had the hope that they would get their children that were still alive back some day. But that was all they had, hope. War respected no one's hopes.

"I, . . . . . . . . . , I understand." He finally said.

"Yes. I expect you do." She replied. "My losses are pain and nightmares to me. I have trouble imagining what someone like you deals with in the small hours of the bad nights. I still have a large extended family to go home to. To be as alone as you, that would be beyond terrible."

He just nodded. Her words had dragged memories from hell out of the closets he could normally keep them locked in. For a few moments he had been back on that shuttle, twenty minutes from docking at Junius Seven, staring happily toward home when the universe vanished in an overpoweringly brilliant light. He'd been blind for over a week; had been incredibly lucky not to have permanently damaged his vision.

Sometimes, he wished he'd never recovered. Blind, he would never have had to see what had happened to his home, his family. Blind, he could have remembered everyone as they were, could have let himself delude himself that they were still out there somewhere. But he had recovered. And he had seen. And he could never deny it now.

"Why did you do it?"

"_I_ didn't." Kayla told him gently. "And I don't understand the kind of mind that did do it. But it definitely was Earth Alliance people. My side did start this war. I will not try to pretend we didn't."

"Why Junius Seven? It was an agricultural Plant! There wasn't anything even remotely like a military target on the entire thing!"

"Ah, now that I can explain." The woman leaned back, arms wrapped around her knees. "I had a commander once who was a political science professor in happier times. She understood why Junius Seven had been the target and wanted her squadron to understand as well. So we would know, I think, just who and what we were really fighting for."

She shrugged unhappily. "You can explain that forever but when someone is shooting at you, the fact that your side is mostly in the wrong somehow fades in importance against the drive to survive. You rationalize what ever you have to to keep going, keep fighting, keep living."

"What excuse did she give?" Adrian asked bitterly.

"The word excuse does not apply. The _reason_ it was Junius Seven and not another Plant was _because_ it was an agricultural Plant. With it in production, the Plants would have been almost completely self sufficient in food. You had achieved independence from Earth in a majority of trade matters. You were gaining a position where you could negotiate new deals and contracts from a position of near equality instead of dependency. If you no longer had to depend on Earth to eat, you would be independent in fact if not yet in name. That was not acceptable to the powers that be. They saw to it that your independence disappeared. The method chosen, the nuke, was intended to cow you into another generation of submission. They failed to understand just how far you people had come and how determined you were to gain the dignity of a really free people. The method backfired on them, and everyone on Earth and in the Plants is paying for that misjudgment."

"What?"

"Junius Seven was the final key to Coordinator independence as Blue Cosmos saw it. They destroyed it to break that key and your hopes of freedom." Kayla said simply. "They misjudged the situation almost totally. Instead of submission, they got war. Instead of victory, they've gotten us mass slaughter. And now, they've even turned to betrayal of our own troops just to kill some of you. Worse, because they are calling the shots for the EA, your people have decided to meet fanatics with fanatics and elected that Patrick Zala to Chair the Supreme Council. Between his blind hate and the exact same kind of blind hate from Blue Cosmos, we may damn well end up blowing ourselves to hell real soon now. And I resent that!"

"Yeah." Adrian agreed wearily.

So. Now he had an explanation. He wasn't sure what to do with it now that he had it though. Bits of unrelated thoughts tumbled through his mind. Odd mental pictures came and went. It was very like the way his mind had tried to process the destruction of his home when it happened, only not as intense. If he just gave it a little time, it would work itself out. So he sat and let his brain do what it seemed to need to.

He was vaguely aware of the passage of time. Kayla went away for a while, how long he couldn't say. She came back eventually. Then she was gone again. His mind played with rain images for a bit while a small part that was still rational realized that he was hearing the shower running. The light was failing when he finally became fully aware of his surroundings again.

Adrian knew he wasn't done working through the issues Kayla's information had left him with. However, he was done with the preliminary stage. He knew that because he was back in the real world again. What his mind had made of it all he didn't know yet. That was something he would learn over time as he integrated the new data with his existing worldview and saw how it changed it. What he did know was that he would not have waking nightmares from this or be unable to function as a soldier. He'd given his brain the time to do its processing; it would let him get on with daily living now.

As he surfaced, Adrian let himself take in what was around him quietly. He did not change his position or move his head but from where the chair sat, he could see most of the room anyway. Kayla was napping on the bed, fully dressed but barefoot. From the way her raven hair tumbled around her face, she'd washed it sometime since her bout in the simulator this morning. The vidplate 'windows' were rapidly darkening to real night, plunging the room into darkness as well. The hall door was open; most of the light in the room was coming from there. And someone had recently dropped off a dinner tray that clearly had enough on it to feed both of them. As that thought crossed his mind, his stomach growled at him, reminding him breakfast had been a long time ago and lunch never happened.

He stood and stretched carefully, not wanting to pull anything that had stiffened up by moving too fast now. The caution was justified. A fair old number of items went pop or creak as he limbered himself up a bit.

When he was satisfied that he could move again, he waived a hand over the table light until it was bright enough that they would be able to see what they were eating. The open door annoyed him for some reason so he shut it before going to the bed to wake Kayla. There he stopped for a bit.

He was reminded once again just how beautiful she was. Asleep tipped somewhat onto her right side, she had a wonderfully disheveled look. The skirt was hiked up to the middle of her left thigh and the top of the blouse slide has slipped to almost indecent levels. The resulting visuals were almost enough to make him forget about food altogether. Fortunately, his stomach hadn't and it growled at him again.

Adrian stepped away from the bed and the very distinct temptation it presented him to make some small noises with the food dishes. He'd gotten the impression before that she was a light sleeper, this should wake her. It would be a better way to do it than looming over her would be.

"Back with the world are you?" She sounded a bit sleepy.

"Fine one to talk. I look around to find dinner has arrived and you sound asleep."

"Yeah, well, I had to kill time doing something. You weren't much for conversation there for a while."

"Ah, I must grant you that."

"So, what's for dinner?" She had the table pulled over by the chair he'd been sitting in and the small dining chair brought up to sit across from him.

"A baked casserole of some sort, smells delicious, new peas, bread, and something that looks suspiciously like chocolate cheesecake."

"One thing I honestly do appreciate around here is the food! Here, they sent in a couple of large teas apiece."

It was a very good meal. They managed to find things to talk about that didn't seriously touch on the war and so didn't trample on each other's feelings. He learned that they liked many of the same authors and tri-dee productions. They shared a similar taste in art but weren't as close on music. He liked more avant-garde material, she favored the classics. While they were both keen pilots, by mutual consent they avoided that topic. Comparing Zero and GINN would definitely be war related after all.

As the evening wore on, they turned on the small entertainment unit in the room and found favorites to show each other. Some clicked and some earned the other one of those kinds of looks that questioned one's sanity. A lack of facilities saw them both sitting on the floor sharing the broad footrest of the plush chair as a backrest.

It happened by accident. Both drinks had ended up on her side of the chair. All he did was reach behind her for his. All she did was sit back before he was expecting her to.

Suddenly, he had his arm around her. She turned to look at him questioningly. Adrian found he was about three centimeters from her lips. He acted on the impulse before any actual thought entered his mind.

While it was a rather gentle kiss, the invitation it conveyed was unmistakable. So was the message that it would not stop with kissing if the invitation was accepted. He released her slowly but well before she showed any sign that she felt she had to free herself.

She sat blinking at him owlishly, then whispered, "What happened to that bit about it all being lab work?"

"Well," he replied just as quietly, "it seems that won't be happening. Besides, that was about children. Grandfather's made sure you aren't vulnerable to that right now."

"Oh, yeah, right." She nodded very slowly, never losing eye contact.

Time crawled by. He measured it only by the changes in her eyes. The pale green of uncertainty gave way very slowly to a much stronger color. That in its turn deepened into an intensity matched only by the moments of great rage he'd seen. But there was no rage here now. Desire and decision, those were the only things he could read clearly. Unfortunately, he didn't know what the decision was.

One slender, and very strong, hand suddenly locked on his uniform coat. "Understand me, Adrian Ito, if we do this, you are mine. _My_ Coordinator. And I do not share. You got that? I do not share you and you will not share me. If you can't live with that, back out now."

Share? Hell no! Not now, not ever! She was his! He was up on his knees suddenly, arms around her pulling her hard against him. The second kiss was not gentle at all. He pushed his hips against hers, making very sure she could feel his reaction to this before he even tried to answer her.

"And are you willing to be _my_ Natural? Because if those are your conditions then you need to understand in turn that I will not consider this a once-off. You will be mine! And you _will_ accept the chance that Grandfather might not catch all the eggs in time next month. Because I will be coming here as often as I can. I will come for you, to make love to you! And I will not take no for an answer then if you say yes now. Because, Kayla Grayhawk, I want children with you! I've lost whatever mind I ever had; a Coordinator isn't supposed to want a Natural like this. But I don't care any more! I won't look anywhere else. There's no one else to look at."

She kissed him fiercely. "Damn straight you won't! You can move your gear in in the morning. You aren't the only one who wants kids! And if they're like their dad, well, that's good enough for me! Now get that uniform outta the way!"


	11. Chapter 11

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I will be out of town over New Years. Updates will therefore be delayed as the computer will be in one state while I'm in another. I will post a chunk of what's ready before I go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Lance Thoms had come for his wayward Elite pilot. He had not come to talk to Dr. Ito. But the staff had very firmly refused to direct him to his missing officer or to summon the young man. What they did do was just short of drag him up to the old geneticist's office. So here he was, losing time he really didn't have to waste tonight, being announced by a secretary.

"Captain Thoms? Oh, good, good! Send him in." Old Ito sounded remarkably cheerful this evening. "And have the kitchen send up something snack-like. Something with too many calories in it please. Yes, and chocolate! Make sure some of it is good quality chocolate!"

"Yes Doctor, right away." The woman bowed herself out of the office and Lance in.

"Make sure some of it is drinkable." Thoms ordered under his breath just loud enough for the secretary to hear. "And that it's suitable for washing excess chocolate out of your mouth."

"Yes Captain, of course." She murmured through a small smile as she closed the door firmly behind him.

"Ah! Just the man I was wishing to see!" Roland Ito waved him toward the inner office, his own private space and not the place he normally entertained any company at all. This was interesting. And a bit unsettling truth be told. What had that young idiot gotten himself into now?

A very dense beaded curtain cut the inner office off from the more public outer one. As he reached to part the strands, Lance was startled to discover it was three layers deep. The layer facing the outer office was an attractive but conservative pattern done in shades of cream, brown and rust. The middle was a solid layer of pearl white. The inner however, flashed brilliant color as he shifted the beads aside.

He stopped just inside the curtain. This space was nothing like the public one. The outer office was the domain of an eccentric genius with conservative taste and poor filing habits. This room belonged to someone else altogether. There were colors everywhere. Harmonious colors, somehow soothing colors for all that the colors were also mostly fairly strong ones. And the space was almost painfully neat. It was also so full of files and equipment that any mess at all would have made it uninhabitable.

Dr. Ito was seated behind a small desk at the far end of the space. It wasn't all that far either, it just seemed that way as one had to make one's way through all this gear to get there. But there was a second, very comfortable looking chair pulled up close beside Ito's and as he got close, that was where the older man indicated he should sit.

Just as he arrived, a trap in the floor directly in front of the desk opened and a lift rose. There was a fair sized tray on it holding covered plates, a pitcher and glasses, and napkins neatly folded beside a small basket of silverware. The snack had arrived in record time.

"Oh, good, would you be so kind as to put that on the desk? The lift won't retract until the weight is removed."

Lance was a bit surprised to discover just how heavy the tray was. Just how much 'snack' had they sent up here? He hefted it enough to swing it over and plop it on the empty desk. The lift had already vanished back into the floor by the time he let go of the handles.

He sat down as Ito took the covers off all the dishes. The assortment was quite wide, cheeses, meat sticks, cookies, the requested chocolate candies, even what looked like chocolate cheesecake! Yeah, they'd sent up the extra calories all right. The Doctor handed him a tall mug of what proved to be very good tea before he also sat down, with a small mound of goodies to nibble on.

"Now, you will want to know why I've had you bundled up here instead of sending Adrian out to you I suppose."

"The thought had crossed my mind." Lance replied drily.

"Ha! I'll bet it had!" The geneticist popped a small cheese ball into his mouth and ate it with an expression of pure bliss before he went on. "Do you know what a pheromone is?"

"Not really. Biology was not my best subject and it was a good few years ago anyway."

Ito snorted. "At least you remember enough to immediately associate it with the proper scientific field. Let me explain then. After that, there is something I will want you to hear a bit of. You will understand a great deal more at that point."

Pheromones sounded outright dangerous the way Ito described them. These things, you couldn't consciously smell them really so you wouldn't know they were getting to you. And they appeared to have the power to completely readjust a man's thinking regarding any specific woman. Worse, the effect lasted for _years_!

"Let me be sure I'm understanding this. You are saying these attractant pheromones will, when they really lock on, do something like fixate two people on each other? That they'll literally pair up because of these things and _stay_ that way for three to seven years?"

"Oh, in rare cases it can last longer than that." Ito sounded so damn cheerful about this! "The thinking is that these evolved as a means of assuring that a man stayed with a woman long enough to insure at least the first child they had was old enough to keep up on the march and help with the food gathering before he got distracted by some other woman and left the first one with no provider for herself and the child. Of course, they also hold the woman faithful to the father of the child as well."

No one had ever accused Lance Thoms of being particularly dense. It was pretty clear to him that Dr. Ito thought these pheromones had gotten to his grandson. Since the only woman that idiot had been in an enclosed space with in a high tension situation lately was the Natural pilot he'd captured, it was also pretty clear just who the old man thought the boy had gotten himself tied to.

"You're sure they're a pair?"

Ito's eyebrows rose. "Oh, yes. I'll keep the volume down but I'm sure you'll agree if you just listen for a bit."

He reached back and carefully turned up a unit that looked identical to a topflight ZAFT security monitor. The visual was off and Lance was glad of it. He was even happier about that dark screen as low noise resolved itself into the unmistakable sounds of two people enthusiastically making love. Thankfully, the geneticist did indeed leave the volume turned well down. Even so, the girl's tiny yelps progressed quickly to small screams that got steadily shriller until both cried together. Ito shut it off after that. He'd made his point.

"If you look at the log, that wasn't their first completion this evening either." Dr. Ito noted calmly. "She's one strong girl. She'll keep up with Adrian. She might even wear him out. Which is not how it normally works when the boy is a Coordinator and the girl isn't."

"I did not need this in my squadron right now."

"I do understand that. However, this actually happened at Josh-A. It simply has been building toward this since then. This intense phase will pass."

"When? A week? Six months? Next year? I'm going to have a tomcat who knows where there is a queen in heat on my hands until then! This is not good for team discipline."

"This level is unsustainable. It will wear off sometime tomorrow. They will both be too worn to keep this up beyond that point. What they are doing involves friction and solid physical contact. They'll be sporting some fine bruises. Joints will be strained and muscles overworked. No, tomorrow will see this burn out. Neither will be physically able to renew the activity for at least two or three days given the current intensity. You'll have time to beat some sense and discipline into Adrian's head."

"That's fine. For tomorrow. But how long is this overdrive phase as a whole going to last?"

"Until she gets pregnant and her scent changes. At the moment, he smells the pheromones that tell him she capable of conceiving. Once she has, the pheromones will shift and the message will be, child coming. It will back his interest down remarkably."

"What do you suggest I tell the team?"

"You tell them that he is heavily involved in meeting his obligations to the Project. It actually is the truth after all."

"Wonderful."

"Sarcasm does not become you. I have another reason for asking you in here. I've had another call from your mother. Have you heard from her?"

Lance looked up sharply. "No. Mother doesn't attempt to send me any sort of news that might be the slightest controversial while I'm on base. She knows how many eyes and ears there are there; and how many loose lips."

"Wise woman." Roland Ito said grimly. "You heard of course of the escape the other day of Miss Clyne with Commander Waltfeld and the _Eternal_?"

"Oh yes, that story, in many variations, is all over the base."

"It seems the _Eternal_ has met and joined the _Archangel_ and the Aube battleship _Kusanagi_, the mysterious second ship to escape from Aube just before Athha destroyed the mass driver. They took refuge at the old Mendel Colony, of all the places in the universe to chose, and Le Creuset tracked them there. So did the latest of the Earth Forces battleships, the second in the _Archangel_ class. There was a fairly insane three way fight. We lost _Vesalius_, the Earth Forces were driven off, and the three ships with Lacus Clyne have dropped out of sight."

"So we now have a very small but not inconsiderable third party to this war."

"Correct. Very importantly, the Eternal was specifically designed as the support ship for the Freedom and the Justice. All special armaments for those mobile suits are on that ship. And both those suits are with Miss Clyne's group. Much may depend on what the pilots of those suits decide to do with them."

It was the tone of voice that alerted him. Lance looked sharply at the older man. Roland Ito was staring off into the distance at something only he could see, something that put a very bitter twist to his lips.

"You see, Captain, there are things to learn at Mendel. I wonder if Miss Clyne and her people learned any of them. I must hope they did. I must hope they learned enough to grasp at least the thinnest edge of the danger we are all in."

Powerful golden eyes suddenly stared straight into his own. "One very interesting fact was included in your mother's report. It seems Le Creuset tossed out an escape pod with an Earth Forces prisoner in it just before the battle began. He told the Earth Forces ship they could come pick it up. The battle was well underway when that pod transmitted a message. It said the occupant had the key to end the war and begged the _Archangel_ to come get them. Unfortunately for whoever was aboard, it was an Earth Forces mobile suit that picked up the pod. Azriel of Blue Cosmos is aboard that ship. Now he has whatever 'key' Le Creuset was passing out."

"I'm not getting the message here." Lance said very quietly.

"Le Creuset is playing both ends against the middle and has been for years. I will wager you the existence of the Plants that he has given Blue Cosmos the data on our N-jammer canceller."

Captain Thoms suddenly couldn't breath. Blue Cosmos? With the information on the N-jammer canceller Mother had whispered about? They would come here, back to the Plants again, with nukes. This time, they would come for each and every one of the Plants.

"That damn defective clone intends to take all of humanity down with him. Just as he promised me he would eighteen years ago." Ito said coldly. "Thoms, pray the two boys flying Justice and Freedom chose to help us. Because without the firepower built for those mobile suits, we will lose Plants, perhaps we will lose _all_ of them."

"Defective, . . . . . . . ." Lance looked intently at the coldly enraged old man. "Are you referring to who I think you are?"

"Rau Le Creuset? Yes. And if you love your life and your son's life, you will keep that knowledge to yourself! I tell you only so that you may keep your eyes open in battle and save what you can as he brings us all to the brink of mutual genocide. Make no mistake here, Captain, he will do this."

"How, . . . . . , cloning humans is as illegal as it gets!"

"I know." Ito replied with a smile that spoke volumes for his grasp of the realities of the toxic ethics he had discussed with Grayhawk the other week. "But Hibiki was a man utterly focused on his goal and he could be bought to attain it. His work was expensive, very expensive, and it was not paying off. His funding was threatening to dry up. So when the offer was made, he took the bribe for his greater goal and made the wretched thing. The purchaser was not satisfied with the product; it aged too quickly, and pressed for another. The man died before that was done. Or at least I do not believe there was a second clone made. I do know Hibiki was planning on trying. The money was simply too good to pass up."

"What the hell was worth that kind of risk?"

"Dr. Hibiki was trying to develop an artificial womb. It would take the human variation factor out of Coordinator reproduction; or so he believed. He thought if he could do this, he could produce an ultimate Coordinator."

"Did he?" Lance asked with the kind of repulsed fascination usually reserved for exceptionally bloody shipwrecks in docking bays.

Roland shrugged. "I don't know for sure. I left the program before the last test was decanted. But a former colleague who stayed did call and tell me there was one successful birth; the male embryo Hibiki took from his own wife apparently was the magic child. Very shortly after that, someone betrayed Hibiki. Blue Cosmos got the data on what he was up to and word of the boy. They struck Mendel and destroyed the place, killing anyone and everyone they found. Hibiki, his wife, the boy and his Natural twin sister all vanished. Considering the state of many of the bodies, or what was left after they tried so hard to make the remains unidentifiable, I'm not surprised no one could ever identify any of the family. Still, Hathaway was very optimistic about that boy. Who knows, that obsessive fool may have actually succeeded. The price was impossibly high though. Even if it worked, it is unlikely there would ever have been a second made that way."

"If he survived, that kid, how old would he be by now?"

"Lance," the old geneticist said gently, "don't waste time on dreams that impossible."

"It's my time and it isn't a dream, just an idle question."

"I suppose so. Well, for whatever it may be worth, the boy would be sixteen if he has somehow miraculously survived."

"Old enough to be caught up in this war somewhere."

Ito regarded that idea thoughtfully. "Yes, yes he would be. And if he is indeed alive and a soldier, and if he is what his father designed him to be, he will be a notable factor in it too."

* * *

Roland Ito looked thoughtfully at the swaying bead curtain Captain Thoms had just left through. Now why had he been so interested in Hibiki's lost experiment? Did the idea of an ultimate Coordinator fascinate him too?

"You shouldn't have told him so much, Roland."

Eyes not leaving the quickly stilling beads, Dr. Ito just shrugged. "He will be going out into the battle Le Creuset is driving everyone toward. Adrian will be with him. If he knows, there is at least some chance he will be able to protect the boy."

"Oh, the clone. I wasn't referring to him. I meant your talk about the child, Hibiki's child. You've given him an empty hope, Roland. He needs to believe there is a balance for Le Creuset and you handed him one on a plate. He will be watching for the miracle child to appear to save the Plants. That was a very cruel thing to do to a brave man."

He turned to the hidden door way that led to the private lab. His daughter-in-law, Serin Ito, stood quietly in the open passage. She just shook her head at him in disapproval.

"Eh, I'm not responsible for how he chooses to interpret my words. And, I remind you, in the face of insurmountable odds, hope is often the only refuge we have. I gave him hope, Serin. Our people need that desperately."

"I understand that. Understand in your turn that if there is nothing on that battlefield to support that hope, it will destroy him. Adrian depends on Lance Thoms. I will not forgive you if your careless decision making costs me my son."

"He is all I have left as well girl." Roland snapped. "Why do you think I've had you and the others spiking their food and drink with aphrodisiacs? I need that brilliant, smart-mouthed Natural girl pregnant! And it has to be in a manner she thinks is all her own idea. Because if that's what she believes, she will defend herself, the child, _and_ the child's father like the tigress she really is!"

There was a long minute of silence; then Serin replied softly. "Yes, yes she will. But she is a Natural. Despite all her courage and she has enough for an entire squadron, when all is said and done, she is still physically less able than any Coordinator."

He grinned mirthlessly at the far wall. "True enough. But you forget, everyone here in the Plants forgets, that Naturals excel at weaseling their way through disaster to safety. The entire history of the species is one huge example of it. Present a sharp Natural with a mortal threat and, nine times out of ten, they'll come up with a way to escape. This girl is a very sharp Natural, I'm betting everything on her. I have no other choice, Serin. Kayla Grayhawk is all we have. And Adrian does genuinely love her."

"I know. Did you know that her feelings for him are just as real?"

He turned in surprise. His psychologist daughter-in-law merely raised an eyebrow at his startled look. So Serin had done a complete workup on the mutual attraction between her son and his Natural captive. And discovered they'd actually captured each other. Yet she wasn't angry about it.

"I thought you were set on the Rince marriage."

"Helen Rince is a pleasant girl but no more than that. She has no real interest in Adrian nor he in her and she has at least two other good matches her father likes better now that there is no property or standing for Adrian to inherit. No that is over. I've already told Adrian. Besides, even under the best of circumstances it would have been a thing of societal convenience only. There was no affection there and little likelihood of it ever developing. They would not have done well together. That would have negatively affected any children such a hollow marriage might have produced too." Serin told him bluntly.

Then she smiled wryly. "Whatever one may say of his Grayhawk, they are unquestionably passionate about each other. Their children will never have to question their parents love or their interest. They may fight, they may not, but they will never go through life in a mannered dance of civil indifference."

"That pair aren't going to go through life in a civil anything." Roland muttered.

Serin smiled, "No, they aren't. For once, we agree."


	12. Chapter 12

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I will be out of town over New Years. Updates will therefore be delayed as the computer will be in one state while I'm in another. I will post a chunk of what's ready before I go.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The morning after something like what the two of them had done was not that much fun. Everything hurt. What didn't hurt at the start, hurt when she tried to move it. She was stiff as a board, bruised in places she'd never imagined getting bruised, and was in general a mess. Of course, he was no better.

However, he was a Coordinator. For the very first time in her life she was actually jealous of their recovery abilities. Adrian could really move while all she could do was lay there trying not to let the pain make her cry. He was the one who picked her up and got them both into the shower to clean up. He washed her off like a small child, treating her like delicate china before he ever took soap to himself. And he got them both into the warmth of the soaking tub as well. It was Adrian who recovered enough in the hot water to be able to give her a gentle massage as the heat loosened knotted muscles and unkinked the snarled nerve bundles below the bruises enough to let her begin to feel human again.

He carried her out of the tub too. And dried her off. And dressed her in a clean nightgown. And helped her eat the delicious but all soft foods breakfast someone had very thoughtfully provided. Then he put them both back into a bed someone had changed and curled protectively around her. He was still there, head tucked against her shoulder when she woke for the second time.

She lay quietly looking up at the neutral ceiling without really seeing it. She still didn't know why this had happened. She was an Earth Forces officer, damn it! He was with the ZAFT. There was a _war_ going on! Yet given half a chance she'd unhesitatingly gone to bed with this man. And she knew she would again, when ever he asked. Just as she knew she would as unhesitatingly accept being pregnant by him and bearing him the children they both wanted. It made absolutely no sense at all. When had he gone from enemy to someone she loved so totally?

"Is there something so very interesting up there?" Adrian asked quietly.

"Why did we do this? It doesn't make any sense at all. We're supposed to be at war with each other, not making love 'til our brains fall out." Kayla replied in mild irritation.

"Pheromones." He responded immediately. "Or at least that's Grandfather's explanation."

"Pheromones? What does bug talk have to do with us?"

He laughed softly. "Ah, there's more to them than, ah, bug talk! Humans make and use them too. It's just that we have such poor senses of smell that we don't know we're doing it."

His explanation reminded her of something she'd read in one of her elder sister's college textbooks. Something about attractants and bonding agent pheromones. As she tried to bring that data back to her active memory, she began to understand what had happened. But . . . . . .

"Excuse me for not being a natural scientist but those just shouldn't be that strong. Not strong enough to pull us together like this with a war in the middle anyway."

"If either of us were traditional Naturals, it probably wouldn't have happened." He agreed, rolling over onto his back to stare at the ceiling in his own turn. "But I'm a Coordinator and your family has done a major clean-up on its genome. We are not anything like traditional Naturals in a lot of ways. So some things are not as effective on either of us."

"And some are a lot more effective, that's what you're saying isn't it?"

"Yes."

She thought about this for a while before asking, "So what does the old goat have to say about it? How long should this pheromone thing last?"

He sighed. "Three to seven years. In unusual cases, much longer."

"And how long will it take him to tell if we are one of these unusual cases?"

"Well, if we fall apart in seven years, we'll know we aren't anything special now won't we?"

"Not funny, Ito."

"I suppose not. But the fact is, there really doesn't seem to be any way to tell until the bonds fade. So no one knows how long the pheromone hold will last."

"That's wonderful! I'm so reassured now."

"Kayla, I doubt you and I will last on pheromones anyway. We are too different. We will either make a genuine love match of this or we will part eventually."

She turned to glare at him only to find him looking at her very seriously. "I mean that. Either we choose love or we will fail as a pairing. We are Natural and Coordinator, Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and those are only the beginning of the ways we differ. What we have now is something very good. At least _I_ enjoyed it, all of it, yesterday. And I tell you honestly I'm very much looking forward to doing that again, if on a somewhat less self-destructive scale. Just as I'm looking forward to watching our children develop within you. I think that will be a joy too."

He turned back to the ceiling. "But if we do not choose to build on this foundation, to reach out to each other, to really get to know one another, this will all eventually wither away. Love takes work. It may just happen, I don't know that for sure, but I do know from watching my parents that keeping it alive and growing is something that both must nurture."

"Yeah. I know what you mean. Mom and Dad spend a fair old amount of time and effort keeping their relationship solid."

"So you understand what is necessary here."

"Yeah, I do."

They got up slowly after that. Neither felt all that great although he was clearly in better shape than she was. They went for another soak in the tub, which helped, and he rubbed in the bruise cream they found left for them when they got out. She returned the favor on a few of the more spectacular of his bruises too. Dinner was quiet.

They found the comfortable chair had been replaced by one large enough for them both to snuggle in. So they sat warm and close and just watched old classics for a few hours before going back to bed again. He was gone in the morning when she finally woke up. There was a note left on the breakfast tray telling her Captain Thoms had come by for him.

So, the war was back in their faces again eh? Kayla munched her way thoughtfully through her share of breakfast. She had some decisions to make, decisions that would not benefit from haste or lack of care in her thinking. She needed information too if she could get it. That was going to have to come from Adrian. The old goat wouldn't tell her a thing and neither would his lackeys.

In the mean time, she needed to get back in shape. A question to Serin and she was shown the way to the physical training room she'd been ignoring until now. It had limited equipment but that did include a running track set in the traditional oval around the few resistance machines and a strip pool that could be set for various water speeds that one could swim against.

She secured a suit and gave the pool a try at a fairly low speed. She was in no shape today to be going all out at anything. It seemed to be a pretty decent set up so she quit while she had some energy left to try all the machines. They were all in working order too. A walk on the track showed her it was also in good shape. A bit of careful planning and she would be back in combat condition very soon. The daily workout in the GINN simulator had at least prevented her from losing all her edge.

She rested after lunch, spending the afternoon with a book. She took time for one modest walk on the track before dinner but no more. There were still a lot of aches and twinges from her bout with Adrian the other night. She knew enough to build herself back slowly and safely. Besides, she was going to be returning to the simulator in the afternoons anyway.

The days settled into a routine. Mornings were spent in the training room. Afternoons were spent in the GINN simulator. Between the two, Kayla was very quickly getting back into combat condition. In a couple areas, like upper body strength, she was actually getting better than she'd ever been before while the swimming was doing wonders for her endurance. In some ways, she was back to the nearly tireless kid she'd been before the war; the kid who could spend dawn to dusk in a saddle managing a flock of eight thousand sheep in the high foothills with one horse, three dogs and a predator rifle.

She was also beginning to get passable with the GINN training. She could walk or fly and draw a weapon now. She had to hold a very simple flight path to be able to target and shoot but she could do that too. She was now in the bottom quarter of the simulator's imaginary 'class' and about to start the space training portion of the unit. She still had to have too many of the monitoring systems shut down though. Fifteen percent of her board was still dark when she was actually trying to do anything.

Adrian appeared on no set schedule. He was present for a night or two, then gone for three or five. He'd be back for four, out for one, back for two, away for three. But he was absolutely true to his earlier promise; when he was there, the first part of the evening was committed to as much love as she could handle. She honestly had no objections to that. He was a generous partner who made sure she got as much out of it as he did. Even better, he turned out to be rather talkative between sessions.

So she learned of the three way battle at the Mendel Colony and of the existence of the small but disproportionately powerful three ship fleet that followed Lacus Clyne. She also learned that Captain Thoms was seriously worried about something that had happened in that battle. Adrian didn't know what it was, Thoms wasn't telling, but he knew his commander well enough to know whatever it was, it was serious and dangerous.

She got to know most of the Thoms Team through Adrian as well. The sheer normalcy of the group never ceased to surprise her. Coordinators were supposed to be so very different. Yet listening to Adrian talk about his Team mates, they sounded no different from her old Squadron really. Some were rock solid, reliable people. Some were pretty good but could be distracted at the wrong time. A couple should be traded off to ceremonial squads where they wouldn't endanger anyone with their carelessness or arrogance.

She'd been some three weeks in this pattern when a very significant fact dawned on her one morning. Her biology was regular as an atomic clock. She'd been able to count the days and know when to expect things to cycle for the last five years. She'd been keeping a tally on a napkin she'd stowed in a bathroom drawer. This morning, she actually counted her tick marks.

Kayla looked at the number again. It didn't change. Including the day of arrival, she'd been here now thirty two days. She sat down on the toilet very slowly. That put her eighteen days over her due date for her last menses cycle. She didn't miss cycles. She _never_ missed cycles. But then, she'd never been making very frequent, unprotected love with that magnificent ZAFT ram before either.

Her hand flattened across her abdomen. Pregnant. She was pregnant. With Adrian's child. With _their_ child! Now what was she going to do? Stay? Still try for an escape? She didn't even know if the kid was a Natural or a Coordinator! She didn't know if there was more than one for that matter! What the _hell_ should she do now?

* * *

"Ah, Adrian! Would you be good enough to come up to my office for a moment?"

Grandfather's timing was not good today. He'd just gotten a call right after breakfast from Captain Thoms canceling his official permission to be off-base. That just didn't happen, not with his excuse being dancing attendance on his responsibilities to the Ito Project. Something major was happening or about to happen.

"Sir, I've just been recalled . . . . . . ."

"Yes, I know." The old man interrupted impatiently. "This is important and given what is happening, is something you need to know before you leave. Come! Standing there arguing is wasting time."

He gave in. There was no point fighting with Grandfather now. He would only have his staff hold him in the building until he had his say anyway.

The small lift he was led to was one he'd never seen before. It took them directly up to Grandfather's private office. Adrian began to get just a bit uneasy. This was not a place he'd ever been allowed into before. Whatever was going on, the old man definitely was not joking about its importance. He took the seat he was directed to silently.

"There is a major Earth Alliance fleet on its way here." Dr. Ito said tersely. "Their specific target is unknown but it is likely the Plants themselves. I have reason to believe a traitor has given them the data on our N-jammer canceller. The battle you will be going out to fight will be the one that decides the fate of our people."

"_What!_" He could hardly breathe. "They have N-jammer cancellers? I didn't know _we_ had those!"

His grandfather looked up, eyes frozen metallic gold. "Yes, that is the technology that allowed us to build those mobile suits, Freedom and Justice, with nuclear power units. That's why they're so very powerful. There was a reason Chairman Zala was so upset when Freedom was stolen you know."

Freedom was powered by _what_? But that would mean it could stay out on the battlefield almost indefinitely! And that it wouldn't run out of energy for its weapons either! Nor would its phase-shift armor ever go down. If the pilot chose to aid the Earth Forces, how would they ever take that suit out? It could destroy literally dozens of GINNs each time it fired!

"Freedom, how the hell do we stop that thing?"

Dr. Ito glared at him. "Freedom is hardly your problem. It is with Lacus Clyne's group and no matter what that fool Zala says, the girl is no traitor to the Plants! Pay attention to the real danger here boy! The Earth Forces are coming with nukes! I've already warned Lance Thoms, that's why he sent for you. Now I'm warning you. I want you to have time to process this shock, to be able to get past it so you can think again by the time they get here."

He stopped, then added gently, "Adrian, you must stop them. We can not afford to have you fail."

The universe vanished in impossibly brilliant light. It seared his eyes for a blinding eternity. Then there was only darkness. Where there had been life, home, and family, there was nothing but frozen waste and death huddled in the bitter shadows.

They were coming again.

He wanted, needed, to scream. But no sound emerged from his fear-closed throat. This could not happen again! It could not! He could not live through that a second time!

They were coming, now.

"Their immediate target appears to be the Boaz Fortress."

Adrian shook his head sharply, forcing the old nightmares out of his vision as he demanded his attention focus itself on his grandfather's new information. If he was going to stop them, he had to know what was going on. He might be shaking, he might want to run and cry, but he couldn't afford to yet.

"How did you learn all this sir?"

"Eh? Oh, I have people I know in interesting jobs. We've taken to trading information around ever since Clyne was murdered. It is our only hope of staying ahead of the fanatics who would kill us all."

"And you trust this information? I mean you _really_ trust it this time?" Adrian asked, desperately hoping there was a chance it was wrong after all.

Roland Ito looked at him with terrible sadness. "Yes, Adrian, I trust it. I've had a chance to see the raw data for myself. They _are_ coming. They are targeting Boaz. And once it is out of the way, there will be only you and the rest of ZAFT to keep them from destroying the Plants."

He stared at the floor for long seconds before he could pull himself together. The sheer weight of responsibility Grandfather had just loaded onto him nearly crushed him. But the old man was right. If Boaz fell, there was nothing else to stop those Blue Cosmos led madmen but the ships and mobile suits of ZAFT. One of those suits was his to fly.

He turned to leave, then paused. "Sir, this time, its serious enough, please, tell Kayla what's happening. She's a soldier, she deserves to know."

"Adrian, . . ."

"No sir! There's a very good chance that even if we do save the Plants most of us won't come back. Tell her! She deserves to know what happened to me. We've been talking about what to do after the war. Well, it doesn't look like there will be an 'after the war' for us! Just promise me you'll tell her!"

His grandfather gave a deep sigh, then said unhappily, "All right. I promise I will tell your Kayla about the impending attack and that you will be going out to meet it."

"Thank you, Grandfather."

The base was a boiling anthill by the time he arrived. His red uniform allowed him to jump the waiting line and got him an immediate seat on a transport running out as far as his Team's hanger. The low, swift personnel carrier dodged in and out among the tramping mobile suits as the individual units formed up and were loading for departure.

He could see that this was a very orderly deployment so far. The units moving right now were ones he knew held defensive assignments some distance out from Aprilius. The Thoms Team was assigned to local defense. They were likely to be departing fairly late in the game. He probably wasn't going to be seriously overdue at the hanger.

The transport didn't actually stop at his hanger. It slowed to a crawl and he jumped off. As soon as he was clear, it sped away. Adrian ran for the briefing room, knowing if Captain Thoms wasn't there, he would be somewhere in the nearby offices.

"'Rin!"

He paused to see Yuri Lubbek waiving at him from the door of the pilots locker room.

"We're supposed to get into our flight suits before we go to briefing!" Yuri called.

"Right! Thanks!" He changed directions immediately.

He was the last one to arrive. All eleven others of the Team were already in various stages of changing. Adrian pealed out of his uniform coat before he reached his own locker, grateful that the call to return had come after he'd had a chance to shower at the Project. He was out of the rest of the red uniform and into the red flight suit in record time. He didn't bother to hook up the internal suit plumbing yet. That could wait until the last second. He did grab his helmet as he closed his locker though and took it with him to the briefing room. Sometimes with Captain Thoms it paid to look absolutely ready to go.


	13. Chapter 13

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

New Years was a blast! Driving home, that is another story altogether. However I did get back in one piece, the car is in one piece, and so all is actually right with my world at the moment. So everyone who is following this gets updates.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

"They're coming with what?" Kayla demanded flatly, unsure she'd heard the old coot correctly. "When did our people develop this tech?"

"They didn't." Dr. Ito snapped. "It was given to them by a traitor of ours. The N-jammer canceller is our tech. Your fleet is on it's way to Boaz. Once they have disposed of that obstacle, they will bring their nukes here. Adrian insisted I tell you. I've no idea why."

She glared at the man. "Well, no you wouldn't would you? He told me a while ago you were shit for brains when it came to how people work. Great on how the little bits that make us up go together but hopeless on how the final assembly handles life."

The affronted geneticist stared at her as she added insult to injury by adding; "I do love the idiot, you have figured that much out haven't you?"

"What would someone like you know of love?" Roland Ito shouted.

"Enough to be _willing_ to get pregnant with his kid!" She shrieked back. "Or are you also dumb enough to think I couldn't get rid of it if I wanted to? I don't want to, you old goat! I want this kid! Adrian's kid! MY KID! And if you can't handle that then stuff you!"

"You are carrying twins you ignorant sheep!"

"Well thank you for getting around to telling me that you arrogant, pig-headed, know-it-all! Have you even bothered to determine who they take after or the genders yet or is that some big government secret you plan to sit on for nine months, eh?"

"One of each and they are their father's children!"

Dr. Ito suddenly stopped. Kayla had no problem understanding why. She'd just insulted him out of information he hadn't intended to give her. The cranky old goat was annoying as hell but he was Adrian's grandfather and one of only two living relatives he had left. She hadn't met his mother yet and if this antique coot was anything to go by, she wasn't sure she wanted to. Still, she was going to have to come up with a way to get along with the old fraud somehow since Adrian valued him. Until then though, any and all tricks that got her the information she needed were fair in this little running war they had going.

"So," she said quietly. "Son and a daughter. Both Coordinators. I can live with that. Adrian will be very happy. I don't suppose you've told him yet have you?"

"No, I haven't determined what they will be like yet. You are too early in the pregnancy for me to safely take samples. I've found trying to test a Natural pregnancy early is very dangerous to it."

"My count makes me something over a month along. What does yours say?"

"Forty-seven days. You apparently released two eggs late, after I had collected the early eight because it would appear you became pregnant from that first, very enthusiastic evening."

"Huh, yeah, I can believe that. He definitely put out the effort that night."

"Yes." Dr. Ito agreed drily. "So my staff told me."

Kayla gave him a very dirty look. There were things that really should be private. The old goat didn't honestly need the details of his grandson's love life.

"So as things stand, Adrian and I are expecting parents who now have a real good chance of being blown back to our constituent components by some fanatic with a nuke sometime in the next couple of days, right?"

"Correct."

"Bundle of good news you are."

"Sarcasm will not alter reality. I would not have burdened you with this. You _are_ pregnant, you do not need this stress. I've told you because he insisted."

She nodded. "You're right, I could do without the stress, and news like this is definite stress. But I do prefer to deal with reality stressful or not. Living in a cocooned fantasy is stupid. You never see death coming that way. This way, you can see it, and maybe evade it."

"Perhaps. At any rate, Adrian will be back as soon as this is over."

Kayla turned grim eyes on the geneticist. "Don't live in fantasy land yourself either, old man. He's going out in a mobile suit to stop fanatics with nukes. The casualties are going to be very, very high on both sides. He's damn good, but on the battlefield good will only take you so far. Then you have to have the luck on your side too or you won't get home. I spent a year going out in a mobile armor that couldn't measure up to what my enemies were sending against me. I know what I'm talking about."

Dr. Ito turned away without another word and just walked out. Kayla let him go without comment. He wanted to believe Adrian was immortal, that he would always come back. She knew better. It didn't matter how good you were, how well equipped or how many people you had at your back. When your luck ran out, that was the end of it. She'd seen it happen too many times to have any delusions that her needs or desires could protect the father of her unborn twins. But that didn't mean she had to like it.

She went back to her room. The place suddenly closed in around her. She saw Adrian everywhere here. No, she couldn't deal with this. She needed a much more neutral space right now. She grabbed the heavy lunch tray and headed for the library. There were tables there and comfortable chairs. And she'd never been in there with Adrian, not even once.

Besides, she really needed to think about all this. What he'd told her bordered on the incredible. N-jammer cancellers? Did those really exist? What was fact and what was the old goat making up to cover for something else? What might that 'else' actually be? She had too many questions and not enough data to be confident of finding any answers.

* * *

"That's it? We're reserves? What the hell is this?" Trace Holman's shout was audible over all the other protests in the room.

For the first time since he'd joined the Team, Adrian found himself in complete agreement with Trace. Just what pencil pushing rear echelon idiot had decided the Thoms Team was only qualified to be reserves? They were a veteran Team! They had an outstanding record! What the hell were _they_ doing in the reserves?

"YOU WILL ALL SHUT UP AND _SIT DOWN_!" Captain Thom's bellow over-road everyone, Trace included.

Adrian was the last man of the Team on his feet. He'd shut up all right; he wasn't a complete fool, but now he was at attention and next to demanding his commander's notice. There were polite ways to ask the questions everyone had been so profanely screaming after all.

Thoms gave him a very nasty look that repeated the 'sit' order non-verbally. He ignored it. Damn it, they deserved some answers here!

"Ito?" The tone of voice was dangerous.

"Sir, requesting information regarding logic of designating a superior and experienced Team to the reserves, Sir!" Adrian snapped out clearly, eyes front and none of his anger allowed to show in voice or stance.

"So someone is left who can clean up the mess." Lance Thoms said bitterly. "Now sit down and all of you, pay very close attention."

The Elite pilot sat slowly. There was something wrong here. Something a lot bigger than just being designated to the reserves.

The Captain sat on the corner of his desk. "You have all had the official briefing now and you all know our status. Now I'll tell you something not part of anything official at all. There is a suspicion, unconfirmed but coming from a source significant enough to cause worry, that the Naturals may have found a way around our N-jammers. If this is true, then the force coming will be bringing nukes. We're reserves, along with a number of other top Teams, because if they do have nukes, there will have to be someone left uncommitted after the start of battle who can be counted on to come in and stop them."

His eyes swept them all, a bitterness and a fear in their amethyst depths Adrian had never seen before. "We aren't being shunted aside gentlemen. We're being asked to save our entire people."

"What?" He wasn't sure who asked that, the voice was too strained to recognize.

"They may have nukes again." Thoms repeated the part that really mattered.

"How, . . . . . . . . . . . how good is this intelligence?" Adrian managed to ask.

"I don't know. I don't know if anyone knows. But the source is reliable enough to have a lot of people running next to petrified. And now you know."

He looked at them one by one. "I expect every man on this Team to do his job and do it better than he's ever done it before. I expect you to keep this information to yourselves. I haven't told any of our support staff and I do not intend to. There is no place to run on a Plant when the weapon is a nuke. If word of this gets out, it will set off panic and we do not need that. So no one talks. In fact, everyone will go out to his mobile suit, get into the cockpit and wait for further orders. There will be no transmissions that can be picked up beyond this hanger and no discussions that are not carefully worded in the messages you pass among yourselves. Go, everyone is going to need some thinking time on this one. Your cockpit is as private a place as you'll be getting for a while."

* * *

Reading and eating in the silent comfort of the library did not really distract Kayla Grayhawk's mind. Nor were there any answers on the shelves here. Everything was just too out of date. She had come to a couple of decisions though. She'd realized Dr. Ito was just too upset and sincere not to be telling her the truth as he knew it.

He believed there was an attack coming at Boaz and the Alliance would be bringing nuclear weapons again. Adrian was going out to meet that attack. If they came with nukes, it would be Blue Cosmos leading them. They would not be taking any prisoners, period. She could lose him. The kids could lose him before they ever knew him.

She tossed the book on the table, the simple romance completely unable to hold her attention any longer. Instead, she pulled out a small stone on a thin chain the ZAFT people had ignored when she was captured. It was a simple tiger-eye pendent set in a bezel decorated with a feather pattern. Or that was what anyone looking at it saw.

According to Grandmother Spotted Horse, ex-Marine, Kendo teacher, mother of nine, and medicine woman, this was her spirit talisman. Kayla had never been able to make up her mind about it. She knew some of the old stories, Grandmother had seen to that, but she had no particular faith in them. She had no particular faith in anyone's gods really but the concept of the natural spirits, that called to her and bugged her both at the same time.

She'd done the vision ceremonies as Grandmother had asked. But if she ever saw anything, she sure didn't remember it. Yet Grandmother told her she had, that she'd come out of the lodge talking in the old language – which she didn't know a word of – and had told her who her guiding spirit was. So now she had this small piece of polished stone and orders never to let anyone take it from her.

Nukes. Adrian. The babies. The whole damned war! There were so many questions and no f'ing answers!

There was supposed to be a way to get this stone to help her find those answers. Well, oh yeah, she was going to find a sage smudge bundle up here on the Plants. And a drum, and a lodge too! Not very likely!

She growled at the stone. What good was it if the answers never came out? She tossed it on the table on top of the book and slapped the lamp to turn it off.

Instead of shutting off, her strike set it to wobbling. The light hit the stone and threw bright sparks of gold and rich bronze across her vision. Her hand grabbed the lamp and steadied it as she eyed the talisman stone thoughtfully.

Maybe what she should do was dump worrying about what she didn't have and work with what she did. No, light hypnosis was not the ancestral tradition but what did that matter if it would work? More importantly, she didn't have the traditional materials but she could rig up either a swing or a twist for the hypnosis with what was right here.

Yeah, this was crazy. And the chances were all she'd get out of it was a headache. But honestly, at the moment, it was better than doing nothing or just letting her mind run in ever smaller circles until she wound her self up in knots.

Minutes later she was ready. The pendent and chain now hung from the lamp. The lamp was positioned so that the stone hung at eye height in front of her. She was carefully settled in the most comfortable chair in the whole library. And the steady, somewhat harmonic tremor she knew was heavy machinery on the move was jiggling the lamp almost perfectly. She gave the stone a very gentle tap to set it twisting and sat back, eyes focused on the flashing rock.

Gold and bronze, gold and bronze, gold and bronze, gold and bronze. The pendent twisted in a now steady rhythm. The colors flashed, faded, flashed, faded, flashed, faded, flashed, expanded, flashed, faded, expanded, faded, expanded, faded, expanded.

_She was looking at the dry land below the Coopers grazing lease. It was late in the summer, everything was dust, gold, bronze or dingy white. She was thirsty and standing in the creek. She dropped to one knee. ZAFT flight suits were handy for some things. You could kneel in the creek to drink from the deepest part without getting wet._

_Satisfied, she stood up. She moved under the shade of a massive old cottonwood that stood alone beside the bank. There had been a second tree there at one time, growing tightly against the remaining cottonwood. All that was left was a weather-smoothed stump that resembled a chair. Kayla relaxed onto it._

_There was a huge white owl sitting on a low branch beside her. She looked at him, then sat up abruptly as she recognized him. Snowy Owl, the Spirit of Owls!_

_"Soaring Hawk Woman, why are you surprised to see me?" The Owl asked calmly. "You came here seeking knowledge. Did you expect no one to meet you?"_

_"Ah," She stared at him. "What did you call me?"_

_The huge bird clacked his beak in irritation. "I called you by your true name, Soaring Hawk Woman. Red Tailed Hawk did warn me that you saw but did not believe and so did not remember."_

_Red Tailed Hawk? An image came flashing, of an impossibly large gold and red-brown raptor grasping a vast tree branch explaining her place in the Spirit World. Hawk, her . . . . . . . . . totem?_

_"So you do remember some of it. Good." Owl said briskly. "Now watch and I will show you what you must do."_

_The sky beyond the tree darkened. Dolls moved across the sky and fought with one another. Stylized metal birds struck at the dolls and at each other. Small, glassy spiders carrying evil cocoons protected by three very distinctively different dolls attempted to attack ranked hourglasses. They were opposed by dozens of the other dolls. The three strange ones broke the common dolls, letting the spiders ever closer to the hourglasses. Then there were two more unusual dolls. They came from two different directions but both opposed the first three. The common dolls began to destroy some of the spiders. But the two new dolls were not able to control the first three and they returned to breaking the common dolls and letting the spiders ever closer. They began to throw their cocoons at the hourglasses._

_Kayla stared in horror. Something terrible would happen if those cocoons reached the hourglasses. Thunderbird raced down on the cocoons from nowhere. His blue and white wings spread wide, then lightenings flashed. The cocoons before him vanished in puffs of brilliant light. A second Thunderbird swept in behind the first, red wings spread. More lightenings flashed. There were only a few cocoons left, the pair of odd defender dolls, joined by a third, and the common dolls destroyed those remaining. The Thunderbirds turned on the three evil dolls, who fled._

_As the Thunderbirds drove off the evil ones and the last of the cocoons were destroyed, she saw a group of four dolls suddenly grow larger. Three were damaged. The fourth was trying to complete their destruction. A fifth doll raced up and broke the wicked one. It gathered the damaged dolls and fled as an unseen force of destruction began to tear apart dolls and metal birds, barely missing the two Thunderbirds as it passed._

_"So you have seen. So you know what you must do. Do not fail. When you are given a doll, take it to the skies! If you do not, there will be no one to save Eagle's Heart, Longsight, or the loyal White Jay!"_

_"Owl, there were two Thunderbirds! Grandmother said there is only one!"_

_"That was not Thunderbird. They are only his mortal Children."_

_"But . . . . ."_

_"Hawk's Daughter! When the moment arrives, remember what you have seen!"_

The pendent flashed gold and bronze, gold and bronze, as the lamp gave a heavier than average bounce. Something not too far away had hit the ground unusually hard. Kayla's eyes blinked. What had happened?

She looked at the time. She'd been here at least three hours! What had she been doing all that time? Something about an eagle, a jay and a hawk and something else but what about them? And why was she picturing Thunderbird in blue and white or red? Those weren't his colors at all!

Kayla stared at the pendent, suddenly sure she knew. There _had_ been a vision. But she didn't remember it. But that was right too. She was no shaman and no believer. She wouldn't remember until she needed to. That was the way of these things. At least she had been given an answer!

She took her pendent off the lamp and put it back where it belonged. Then she put the library's stuff back where it belonged too. Whatever happened, she'd lost a chunk of time somewhere and that bothered her. She grabbed the silly book she'd been reading and headed for her room.

"Head's up Thoms Team! We launch right after Mynobo Team! Everyone to their stations!"

Adrian waited with what ever shreds of patience he could muster for the rest of the Team to get into place. The Captain would be first out and he would bring up the rear. The _Gagarin_ was dropping off almost twenty full Teams here along the back line. The others so far had dropped without a hitch. He did not intend to have Thoms Team cause the first backup.

As soon as they were lined on the catapult ramp, Adrian began his checks for the six units he was responsible for. To his relief, everything was still in good order. It had been a short trip. Even so, the ship was heavily overcrowded and it would have been very easy for one suit to bump another just wrong in this jam and cause damage no one would notice until now, when he could see all the way around each unit. He took his place at the end of the line only after Yuri had checked his suit over for damage as well.

Then it was their turn. One by one, Adrian watched the GINN's of the Thoms Team launch smoothly behind their commander's GuAIZ. As his own suit cleared the _Gagarin_ flawlessly, he breathed a small sigh of relief. They had not held up the four remaining Teams.

Space ahead and to his far right was torn by eye-searing bolts of light and punctuated by equally brilliant explosions. The battle for Boaz was well under way. The filters on his GuAIZ did a better job of compensating for the different light intensities than the ones on his old GINN had; he had a better view of the fight than part of him really wanted.

"Positions on the beacon people! Standard scatter formation beta." Captain Thoms ordered. "We need to be set quickly here! Ito!"

"Yes sir?"

"You have the scanners for this; keep an eye out for anything strange in the Natural attack. If they have what I'm afraid they do, they'll bring it in with a separate team. They'll never get that crap through the middle of that firefight!"

"Right!" Wonderful, now he had to watch this bloodbath whether he wanted to or not. And it was definitely a bloodbath all right. The Naturals were losing more than his people were, as usual, but, also as usual, they had the reserves with them to make the losses less significant for them than each ship and suit lost to ZAFT was. The thing was, the scale of death here was greater than he'd ever seen before in all the eight months he'd been on active duty. Yes, _someone_ intended this to be the final battle all right.

"Thoms Team reporting to Sector Command. We are set." Adrian heard the Captain without paying any serious attention. It wasn't an action order and he didn't have to do anything about it. He was still trying to get a good handle on how this battle was going. It looked like the main defensive line was bowing but still holding. He wasn't sure how though given the raw pressure the Alliance was putting on it! The sheer number of the enemy was more than a bit frightening.

Then he saw it. A small group of five ships just edging into his line of sight. They had been covered from his vector by several of the large asteroids that had been pulled in around Boaz as raw materials sources back in the days when it had been a resource satellite, not a fort. His mouth ran dry as he realized there was already a significant clump of very small vessels pouring out ahead of the five ships. They'd launched already!

"Captain! Lance! They've launched! Those are mobile armors! They're coming at Boaz from Blue Two, ninety-three degrees!" He shouted wildly over the general combat frequency, hoping someone close to Boaz could intercept. "One _Archangel_ class and four _Agamemnon_'s!"

"NO!" Thoms' scream of denial was forever too late. They'd been even closer to the fortress than Adrian had realized. The first, hideously familiar, brilliant flash burst against the backdrop of the stygian fortress.

In his mind's eye, Boaz changed into Junius Seven. Adrian screamed helplessly, unable to turn away, unable to stop it, unable to do anything at all. The universe vanished again in terrible light.

"FATHER!" The shriek tore out of him. "_DAAAAD! ROBIN! DUNNNCANNN!_"

He lost all track of where he was. He tried to throw himself up, out of his seat to go to them. But the safety harness held him solidly in place.

He had no idea what was holding him down. He tried again and again. He could not get free. The hell-lights kept flaring in front of his eyes! He had to get to them! He had to get them out! He had, . . . . ., had . . .to, . . . .had . . to . . . . . .

It was so dark.


	14. Chapter 14

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I actually got some of the story worked on over New Years as a friend very kindly loaned me use of her laptop. So I can post another chapter today and still have something left for another day! Good, eh?

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Kayla walked slowly toward her room. She had a bit of a headache. She only wished she could remember anything from the vision. This business of knowing something was going to happen, and knowing that she had the data on it locked up in her head was vastly irritating!

"LISSA! DO YOU HAVE THE KEY?"

Kayla stopped in shock. That was Anya screaming like that! What the? She took off up the hallway at a run. Something was very, very wrong!

"LISSA!"

"SERIN HAS IT! SHE'S COMING!"

She shot around the last corner before the game room to see Anya and Lissa both standing in front of the door she knew led into the gardens. Serin was coming from the other side at a dead run, passkey in hand. The part of her brain that constantly processed information noted that despite her age, Serin was still a candidate for an Olympic sprinter.

By the time Kayla got to the door, the three Coordinators were already through it. She caught it before it could close on her and forced her way out as well. Whatever was going on, it was out here and she did not want to stay ignorant of something that could have Anya and Lissa the silent shrieking in the halls like this!

"NO!"

She didn't know which woman shouted the denial but she had no question what they were talking about. On the horizon, about two hand-spans above the trees at the end of the garden, an evil light blazed in the sky. She watched it pulse and flair irregularly. There was no question what it was, none at all.

"Those bastards!" Kayla didn't even know she was talking.

"Those god-damned gutless BASTARDS! COWARDS! YELLOW-DOG SPINELESS COWARDS!" She screamed at the sky. "YOU CHICKEN THIEF BLUE COSMOS BASTARDS! HOW CAN YOU POUR THAT SLIME OVER EVERYONE ON EARTH? I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

She was shaking so hard she could barely stand. The sky and its malevolent new light washed over with red. Those dung-holes had brought nukes; and used them! Kayla Grayhawk had never experienced rage like this before. It was taking her breath away and putting great, multi-hued spots in her vision. She never felt herself crash to the ground.

She became aware there was something cool on her forehead. Her head was still pounding slightly but nothing like she remembered it doing. And she wasn't standing anymore either. No, she was laying flat, on something pretty soft. And it was dark.

"How are you doing Kayla?"

"Serin? What the hell happened?"

"What do you remember?"

Good question. What did she remember? Well, there had been waking up to a very amorous Adrian this morning. That was fun! Breakfast, that was nothing unusual. Oh, yeah, Captain Thoms had called. Her mind came to a stop. Yeah, Thoms had called. Everything had gone downhill from there hadn't it?

"Kayla?"

"Yes or no, Boaz is gone 'cause my people nuked it."

"Yes." Serin replied softly.

"How long have I been out?"

"About half an hour."

"What's happening now?"

"Both sides are regrouping. The next phase of the battle will start in a few hours."

"Adrian?"

"The Thoms Team came back whole this time."

"But no one can count on that forever." The veteran pilot whispered. "Someday, we all lose. Some die, some get hurt, some get caught. But we all lose someday."

"Yes." The Coordinator woman spoke so quietly Kayla barely heard her.

"You have someone out there." She stated it as a fact, because that was what the older woman's voice told her was true.

"My last child."

She shuddered at the fear in Serin's normally calm tones. "I can't imagine that. My first are barely started. I can't imagine losing them and having the very last one going out _there_."

"He must. They will come here if he can't stop them."

"That's so wrong! They should leave you people alone!"

"You are generous. You remind me at this moment of Lacus Clyne. She too, in her own very different way, is a warrior for peace."

That, that was one hell of a compliment. She'd seen enough footage of the Clyne girl to have some grasp of how much influence the other girl had once wielded here in the Plants. Warrior for peace? Was that what Owl wanted her to be?

Kayla slipped back into sleep before she could remember anything more.

* * *

Lance had studied the twelve men of his Team carefully during their second briefing of the day. None of them had sunk into shock or, worse, jumped into blind rage. Oh, there was plenty of both shock and rage there all right; but none of it slipped out of anyone's control. At least, not so far. Even Ito was back under control now.

That had scared him. He depended on his lone Elite to be his right hand and most of the left in a battle. To have the younger officer disintegrate into emotional splinters, that had hit him hard. Yet once the light of the blasts had died back, so had his near-dementia. Without the nuclear light burning his eyes, he'd snapped out of it, able to remember where he was and why.

How any of them would do when it came down to fighting was a very open question. Bloody Valentine had scarred the psyche of every living soul in the Plants. Now the Earth Forces had come with nukes again. The Captain was honestly unsure Team discipline would hold if they came face to face with any of the attacking forces carrying the nukes or those guarding them. The smoothly oiled, destructive machine that was the Thoms Team might well disintegrate into twelve insane berserkers hell-bent on individual obliteration of the enemy force; throwing their effectiveness away in their blind need to kill.

He strode swiftly through the hanger, pausing at each mobile suit to be sure the crew had everything in full readiness and the pilot was just as prepared. They could afford no short-cuts today. The pause for resupply by the Earth Forces had given them this unanticipated window of opportunity to bring every machine up to full power themselves. They weren't going to get another chance. Once in this fight, the only way out was probably going to be death or energy depletion – something likely to be nothing more than a slow death this time. Victory was an event only the lucky few would live to enjoy.

As he stopped to talk to each man, Lance decided he was grateful they hadn't received the rest of the promised GuAIZ mobile suits to replace their GINNs. Yes the new suits were more powerful and considerably more maneuverable. But they were also unfamiliar. Only two of the suits had reached his Team so far. He had let everyone try them once but had seen immediately that the change over would require serious practice with the new weapons before most of the Team was going to be effective with them.

Because they were considered prestige equipment, he'd almost been forced to keep one for himself as Team Leader and assign the other to Ito, the Team's only Elite. Fortunately, he'd taken the time to practice until he was genuinely comfortable with the GuAIZ and Ito was a natural with it. Just as well in his case since the boy spent far too much time up at the Project practicing something else with that too-willing Natural girl he'd idiotically lost his heart to.

"Sir, what, ah that is, if we do run low on power and the battle's not over, ah, . . ." Yuri Lubbek stumbled over his question.

"If you run low on power, or if your GINN is severely damaged, I want you to play dead." Lance told him calmly. The boy was the youngest in the Team and tended to be the most nervous before battle. He was rock steady once the shooting started but he could talk himself into quite a state ahead of time if given half a chance. The trick with Yuri was to give him something to think about, some activity to plan for. In this case, survival.

"There's going to be a lot of wreckage created by this fight." Thoms pointed out coolly. "If you become disabled or lose power, just pretend to be another fragment of it. There will be a good many bits and pieces that show low or residual power levels. If you shut down everything but minimal life support, you'll just drop into the background of junk metal. You will want to look as defenseless as possible though, so don't try to keep a weapon in your GINN's hand! Even the most stupid Natural will shoot something like that just on general principals! You may be able to get away with leaving a beam gun floating near the hand, but never in it. Sit quietly and wait for either a chance to signal for help or someone to come by and pick you up"

"Yes sir, I understand." Lubbek's nerves of moments ago were already fading as he began to turn the idea over in his mind; building numerous scenarios that he could file in the back of his mind ready for use at need.

Lance realized that was actually something he should have mentioned at the briefing. He included it in his instructions with the rest of his pilots. He'd have to swing back to the first few and make sure they got the word as well. As things fell out, he had plenty of time for it.

The specialty of the military throughout history has been 'hurry up and wait'. Today was proving itself no exception to that rule. The Team was fully ready, almost over ready, by the time they were scheduled to load. And, of course, there was a delay.

Considering just how many ships, men, mobile suits, and tons of supplies they were trying to move out today, it was a wonder things hadn't snarled up hours earlier. This wasn't even a snarl, just the accumulated slippage in turn around time that had been building up since the loading had started. The schedule was gradually falling behind with every small mishap and glitch that slowed any given ship in any given loading bay. By the time his team was ready to go, the delay was nearly up to an hour.

Captain Thoms knew this would do some of his people no good. There were already more than enough nerves around the group just because of the nukes. Having to stand – sit actually – around in their mobile suits an extra hour with nothing to do and no way to burn off those nerves had left some very hair-trigger tempers among the Team.

Every resource in ZAFT was going out this time. There would be no reserve. Honestly qualified or not, if there was a working mobile suit at hand and someone who could get it off the ground and shoot at the same time, they were going out together. The cadet barracks was being emptied of any student soldier who met those very, very limited qualifications.

He knew this was going to lead to trouble and dead kids. So when he saw the line of cadets marching toward their loading transport wavering close to his troops, Lance tried to get his GuAIZ up the line to keep the shambling youngsters clear of his people. He wasn't quite fast enough.

A cadet piloted GINN put a foot down awkwardly. The machine lurched toward the high wall on its right side. The inexperienced pilot overcorrected the mobile suit and used far too much power at the same time, sending it staggering out of control to its left and hard into one of the Team's units. By very bad fortune, the suit the cadet hit was piloted by Trace Holman. Of all the short fuses on the Team, the youngster crashed into the very shortest.

Holman's GINN did not go down as the falling student's unit slammed into it. For a wonder, this one time the arrogant fool managed to do everything correctly himself and kept both his unit and the cadet's from falling. Then he ruined his moment of success by slamming both hands against the student mobile suit and shoving it off at nearly full power.

The hapless cadet fought for control but never had a chance to regain it. The GINN took three giant steps to the right and crashed into the wall. The wall failed, collapsing inward quickly enough to prevent the pilot from using any rebound effect to stabilize the staggering machine. The cadet tried, he sincerely did. He managed to keep the suit upright most of the way to the low building across the garden everyone could now see was in there before it finally tipped too far and fell over on its right side. Thoms could feel the crash shudder up through his own suit. The head and shoulders of the GINN struck the building, crushing the structure. Oh, there would be hell to pay for this!

* * *

Kayla had eaten as soon as she woke up, run herself through her afternoon session in the simulator, and then elected to go for a bit of a swim. Lunch had not been a good meal what with trying to deal with everything that had happened this morning. The simulator class had been much better. It demanded total focus, forcing the worry about the nukes to the back of her mind. It also gave her a place to dump off all the nervous energy that worry had been generating.

She'd run a small battle sim this time with less than ten percent of the board blacked out and had handled the constant data onslaught successfully. She was still near the bottom of the class, a place any Coordinator cadet would be heartily ashamed to be, but she was feeling damned triumphant about it. If this simulator was anything like reality based, she was probably good enough now to go out in a real GINN and stand a decent chance of survival in a smallish fight with something like even odds if the people around her were experienced pros.

The swim was just to get the simulator-tensed muscles loosened up again. So the water speed was lazy and so was her pace. It was part of her concentrated effort to not think about how soon the next phase of the battle would start. But honestly, it should be in the next two to three hours at most. It wouldn't take any longer than that now to resupply all the mobile suits, feed the crews, and rearm those god-damned false-named _Peacekeepers_!

She'd pretty much met her objective when she noticed a shock transmission in the water. Somewhere not too far off, a very heavy object had hit the ground pretty hard. The whole building had had something of a tremor for most of the day from the movement of large numbers of mobile suits. It was the source of the twist she'd used for the hypnosis trick earlier. She hadn't been told the cause but only an idiot would fail to put together all the data she'd picked up over the last month plus and not realize the Project was hard against a decent sized ZAFT mobile suit base. So the building tremor was no surprise. This shock, however, was not something normal.

She stood up in the water, not sure if there was a problem or not. Several more small shocks hit the water. Was someone losing control of a suit? This was a lot like it felt when she was getting ready to 'fall over' in the simulator.

Three shocks of gathering strength reverberated through the pool. Whatever was causing this was getting a bit closer. Then a much larger jolt hit. This one was not as clean as the earlier ones. It suggested a collision and, as it kept on for several seconds, perhaps a collapse of something.

Kayla had no time to analyze the shockwaves in the water. The confused one hadn't really ended before there was another, stronger one. It was followed quickly by four more, each gaining strength. What the hell! This was coming right down on her!

She could hear the last two as well as feel them. Yeah! There _was_ a damn mobile suit stumbling around here! The sound of those massive machine feet hitting the ground was unmistakable!

It was the scream of over-torqued metal that sent her dropping into the shallow water grabbing for the side bar as she pulled herself as tightly against the cold tile as she could. That mobile suit was coming down! Right here and right now!

The howl of overdriven machinery vied with the crashing of collapsing structural materials as the mobile suit came down on the building. The sheer noise was overwhelming. The lights flared and died. The water stopped flowing around her. And there was suddenly dust everywhere. But nothing larger fell on her.

For several minutes, Kayla didn't move. She couldn't open her eyes for the dust and she could hardly breathe through it. Her ears rang, making it difficult to actually hear anything. Yet she could tell the situation was not an immediate threat to her and that conditions were improving by the second.

The air cleared enough that breathing eased to almost normal in what she estimated was about five minutes. Only then did she stand again and shake her head carefully to dislodge as much dust as she could. With her hair mostly free of the loose material, she gently brushed her face and eyelids until she thought she could safely try opening her eyes.

The lights were out of course but she could still see a surprising amount of her surroundings. The wan emergency lights were not faring well under the layer of dust but that really didn't matter since the door and about six feet of the outer wall beside it were both gone, letting daylight in. She could see the roof was gone over the hall. And looming over everything, blotting out the sky, was the back of the head of a GINN.

Kayla waded through the now filthy water to the steps and climbed out of the pool. She found her slippers and knocked the dust out of them before putting them on. The stack of towels was still neatly standing on the rack, assuring her of mostly clean ones in the center of the pile to wipe off with. The similar stack of warm cover-ups likewise held clean ones in the pile. Once she was sort of dressed and at least dry enough not to have the dust turn to mud on her skin, Kayla went to see what had happened.

In the hall she got her first good look at the extent of the damages. The dining room was flattened under the GINN's head and shoulders. The game room door was gone and a good section of the wall was down but it didn't look like anything in there had taken a direct hit.

The corridor leading back to her room was blocked by debris and the tall fin that was part of the GINN's head crest. Looking at the angle, she judged it likely most of the rooms close to hers were destroyed. Hers might be gone as well but she couldn't be sure from here. Looking down the body, it was plain the gardens she'd enjoyed with Adrian were a near total loss. And down at the end of the gardens there was a brand new gaping hole in the stone wall. A hole with several mobile suits standing around in the gap just looking in at the fallen GINN.

She could hear voices shouting on the other side of the huge machine. Apparently the pilot was either injured or trapped or both. She sighed, she really wasn't in the business of rescuing ZAFT personnel but right now, with crazy fools maybe coming here with nukes, she rather thought she should make an exception and see if she could help. So she headed around the lower end of the fallen suit. The smashed vegetation was going to be easier to go through than the wreckage of the building.

By the time she got to the front of the GINN, the small rescue team of two had managed to extract the pilot. They had the young woman up on an emergency field gurney and were carefully pealing her out of her flight suit. As Kayla got closer, she could see the broken ribs and the unnatural bend in the arm that explained why they wanted the girl out of the suit. One leg was also sitting at an odd angle as well.

"Just be careful!" the older of the rescuers snapped, apparently at the one trying to work the busted arm out of the sleeve. "It opens, idiot! Don't pull it down like that!"

"I'm sorry sir! I've never worked with a flight suit!" the frazzled junior protested.

"I have." Kayla told him. "Move. I'll get it open and you can take care of her."

The young ZAFT soldier stepped aside immediately. Kayla had seen ZAFT suits before, she knew how they went together. It took her only seconds to have this one open to the wrist for him. She moved aside herself as soon as she was done and went around to open the other sleeve. The older man stood back and waved at the lower half of the suit when she'd finished with the sleeve. So she went ahead and opened both legs to the feet and very carefully slipped the soled boots off the girl's feet.

Just about the time she finished, a real ambulance arrived. Kayla immediately got herself out of the professional's way. Within scant minutes of their arrival they had moved the badly injured girl onto a secure transport gurney, started basic field treatment and had stabilized her injured limbs enough to get her safely to the hospital. Then they and the pilot were gone, leaving Kayla with the one young soldier and an empty flight suit on the abandoned gurney.

"Gods, now what do we do? Who's gonna get this suit back up and take it out to stop those butchering Naturals?" The trooper muttered.

The question opened a memory. What had Owl said? "When you are given a doll, take it to the skies!" A doll? What a thing to call a weapon like a mobile suit! Wait! This was part of the vision! The green ZAFT flight suit she'd been wearing!

She looked at the suit carefully. It might be a bit large but it should be a reasonable fit. She had been using that simulator for just this kind of opportunity after all. Most important of all, _Owl_ had told her to do this!

"You want this cleaned up?" She asked the soldier as casually as she could, jerking her thumb at the splayed out flight suit. "There's a simulator inside and it's got cleaning gear for one of these."

The young man looked up gratefully. "That would be a big help. The Commander is going to be pissed to hell as it is. I'd just as soon not have him see this. It would only make it worse."

"Sure, no problem. Got the helmet? I can do that too."

"Right over here! Thank you, thank you! You are saving my butt girl!"

More like going to get it hauled in front of a firing squad if things went badly but while she didn't enjoy tricking a kid like this, it was necessary. She could only hope he came out of it all right. Moments later she was heading for the game room with the folded suit, helmet and the gloves the soldier remembered had been left in the cockpit.

The game room was a dusty mess like everything else. Kayla wasn't worried about it. She planned to do this inside the simulator where it would be much, much cleaner. She got to the machine and opened it carefully, trying not to get any more dirt inside than she absolutely had to. She dropped the suit, helmet and gloves off and closed the simulator back up. There were a few other things she was going to need.

The small locker room in the physical fitness area had stayed surprisingly clean, making the emergency lighting adequate enough to work in. There Kayla found, much to her surprise, that the showers functioned and she could get a bath. She took probably the fastest one of her life, including washing the crud out of her hair. She was planning to go out in a mobile suit. Doing that crusted in dust was asking for unending physical torture.

She towel-dried the hair and put it in a neat, tight braid, the ties for it supplied by the stocks in the locker room. She took the means to pin the braid up on her head so it would be secure inside the helmet too. The selection of underwear was skimpy but she found some that fit and that was all that mattered. Unlike last time, she was never going to wear a flight suit without a bra again. Not after she'd realized that _someone_, and it was her own fault he'd had the chance, had let his hands roam where he shouldn't when she was unconscious in his GINN!

She dashed back to the simulator to clean the flight suit. Opened all the way like this, it was a simple job. She was very surprised and quite pleased to discover the injured ZAFT girl hadn't gotten around to hooking up the suits plumbing yet. So she didn't have to try to find a way to sanitize that. In something just under half an hour, she was ready to try to lie her way out of the Ito Project and into a GINN cockpit.

The suit was indeed slightly large on her. However, judging by what she could see in the only mirror she could find, the backplate on a shooting game, it wasn't immediately apparent that this wasn't her suit. The swim wrap she'd also decided to wear under it filled out the size difference enough to let her get by with it once she'd tightened the fittings as far as they would go. She was really going to have to pull the safety harness down tightly though to make up for the looseness or she'd get tossed around inside this suit every time anything bumped the GINN.

She slipped out of the damaged Project building and worked her way down the back of the GINN. Once down by the feet, she peeked around to see how things looked. The first thing she noticed was the lack of gaping mobile suits by the break in the wall. There were still suits out there, but these were moving in purposeful lines, paying no particular attention to the broken wall they were passing. They had to be heading for an embarkation point. She smiled grimly; their attention would be focused on the upcoming battle. They weren't going to notice much else unless it intruded itself on them.

An examination of the downed GINN showed her she could climb over the right 'ankle' and drop to the front without having to risk exposure by walking all the way around the feet. She promptly clambered across the shortcut. She did pause at the top though to study what was going on up by the cockpit.

There were several ZAFT soldiers there now and a couple of officers. Kayla did not see the young man she'd charmed out of the flight suit. That was good. She didn't need to meet him again today.

The officers were too far away for her to hear their conversation clearly but enough floated her way for her to understand that she'd caught one of those streams of fortune that sometimes came to favor the bold. They were talking about the pilot, or rather the lack of a pilot for this GINN. Here was her golden chance. She checked the angles, then dropped down in the most shielded point of the ankle. Her looks were distinctive and she had little to hide them so she put the helmet on and lifted the faceplate. Now her hair was out of sight and her face was defined more by the shape of the helmet than by it's own natural one. She took a deep breath, and started briskly toward the ZAFT group.


	15. Chapter 15

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Captain Thoms knew what he was looking at as he studied the building the cadet's GINN had smashed. He didn't know if this portion of the Project's facilities was in use or not but he knew this was not something he wanted Ito knowing about. Especially if it was the part of the site he rather thought it might be.

So he turned and snapped out an order to his Elite second. "Ito, you lead everyone but Holman up to the loading stage. I'll bring him along in a second. Team! Follow Ito! We can't afford to lose our place in the loading queue."

This time, Holman was smart enough to know he'd overdone it badly without being told. He stood waiting for Lance without having to be ordered to this time. Since he was being the bright boy for once, the Captain let him stew in his own juices for a bit while he checked in with the Cadet Team leader. He was back in less than ten minutes.

"Trace, you are in deep shit." Thoms growled.

"The damn stupid kid slammed into me sir! What was I supposed to do, smile and dust him off?"

"You'd be a lot better off if you had." Lance told him bluntly. "Firstly, the pilot is a girl. Second, her family is very well connected politically. Third, she's badly hurt. I don't think I need to go any further, now do I?"

"No sir." Holman replied in a very small voice.

"You better be one hell of a hero out there today. Because that's just about the only thing that'll save you this time. She's some kind of relation through her maternal line to Chairman Zala's late wife. I've no idea how much that will matter with him at all but it will be a big item for everyone who wants to curry favor with the man. Do not, if you love life itself, put one toe wrong again. Keep your mouth shut, hard as that is for you. And for god's sake, don't even _touch_ anyone outside this Team! You got all that?"

"Yes sir."

"Oh, and never, never, ever get caught being anything but absolutely respectful to anyone who outranks you. You're too well-known for your careless arrogance. You've made a big fat target out of yourself. If you forget that for a single moment, your military career is over."

"I . . . . ." He stopped himself, rather to Thoms' surprise. "Yes sir."

Well, well. Apparently his oft stated intentions of ending up a senior ZAFT general were serious. Lance Thoms had sincere doubts that he'd ever make Colonel, let alone General, but if hope of keeping that dream alive could force him to behave like a civilized person for a change instead of a backbiting two year old, he'd take it.

"All right. And do not forget that every Elite in the ZAFT ranks you, including Ito. I fully expect your rumor mill to stop from this moment forward. You might as well get used to the idea that everyone knows where the stories come from. You do a piss poor job of hiding it. I don't care what you think of him as long as your behavior is proper in public. Do you understand?"

"He's stuck on a filthy Natural!"

"That's none of your business. You never discuss that again. With anyone. _That_ is your one way ticket straight out of the ZAFT and never forget it. You have enemies, Holman. Focus on survival for a while. If what he's doing is displeasing to the powers that be, they'll deal with Ito on their own. They don't need help from you. Especially not after this. Now follow me. We're running late."

This was not good. Trace had been jealous of Adrian for many reasons, that beautiful Natural girl was only the latest of them. It helped nothing that the kid was one of those with dreams of grandeur and no skills to make them real. Standing him next to Ito, who could make what he did look so effortless, had done nothing but pour corrosives on the less competent boy's soul. Holman outright hated Ito for making Elite while he was still wearing standard greens.

Now he was going to be forced to be civil to him at all times and to live the role of junior officer in public. This would be something close to the ultimate humiliation for Trace. He needed to find someone who was willing to accept Holman and reassign him out of his Team before the man lost his control and did something that got someone, or himself, badly injured or killed. Problem was, Trace was very unpopular with most Team leaders. Lance couldn't think of anyone who'd take him. He was still mulling the problem right through the entire loading process and into launch.

* * *

Kayla strode through the wrecked garden plants, trying to keep a step that held at least some semblance to a military one despite the entangling greenery around her feet. She hadn't been noticed yet but she would be soon and for this to work, first impressions were going to be vital. They had to see a ZAFT pilot, nothing more and absolutely nothing less, when they finally became aware of her arrival.

She pieced together an outline for a cover story from what little she could gather from the evidence around the situation and knew she was going to have to be winging too much of it as they fed her more data. This was one insane long shot of an escape attempt all right. Yet, if she pulled it off, it would be one for the history books! That thought almost made her giggle.

The near giggle grabbed her attention, forcing her to recognize how much the tension was affecting her. She had no time and no place to step aside and do anything like take some deep breaths to steady herself. So she made herself breathe very deeply for the next five steps as a substitute. It helped. More by focusing her mind on something other than what might happen if this flopped than anything else she suspected but, hey, help was help and she needed any she could get.

Then she was up to the two officers. Training, and secret practice in the bathroom, took over as Kayla managed to come to a neat halt at an attitude very close to ZAFT's standard for presentation in the field, and saluted the senior Commander and his aide correctly. The Commander, a neatly turned out man with dark hair with green highlights and some gray running through it, had the look of an administrative officer. He returned her salute and eyed her somewhat doubtfully.

"I wasn't told the replacement was a woman."

"Sir, I have no knowledge of that. I was told to suit up and get over here as quickly as I could. They said there had been an accident and a mobile suit was down. That's all I was told." Kayla replied promptly, with the mix of efficiency and uncertainty she would have expected someone like the senior cadet the badges on the suit said she was to show.

"But, a girl?"

"Sir," the Commander's aide interrupted quietly, "the pilot who was injured here was also a girl. Considering how many trainees they are sending out, she may be the best available."

The Commander chewed his lower lip for several nervous seconds. Kayla wasn't sure if he was worried about her being a girl or if there was more than that to it. This news about sending trainees out said this was _the_ major battle shaping up; one ZAFT was going to meet with everything they had. Literally, everything. And that said one and only one thing to the Earth Alliance pilot. The old goat had been honest with her.

"Cadet, what is your name?"

She made a snap decision and gave him the one she knew she would answer to under any and all circumstances. "Grayhawk sir, Kayla Grayhawk."

"Very well, Cadet Grayhawk, why did they send you?"

"I was told I was selected because I have the best combat simulator scores in my category sir." A barefaced lie in one way and true in another. She might be in the last quarter of the simulator class but as the only Natural, she was top-gun in her category all right.

"Simulator scores? They chose you based on simulator scores?"

"That's what I was told sir." It was too late to back out of the story now despite how shocked the Commander sounded.

"Sir, they can't have many left who have any kind of qualifications at all at this point." The aide interjected calmly. "Those who are actually qualified will already have been assigned to units going out. She is simply the best of what there is for cadet reserves. The Admiral did warn you that the next pilot he would be able to find would not be of the caliber of the one who was hurt."

"Yes, yes, I remember." The man had a terribly harried look now. He hissed in frustration. "Well, if you are what's available, you are what I'll have to go with. Cadet, I want you to get into that cockpit, power up this GINN, and get it back on its feet. Can you do that?"

She'd been looking over the downed GINN trying to decide that very question. Truth was, she didn't know if she could or not. But that wasn't the answer she was going to give the Commander.

"I believe so, sir. That is, unless it's caught on anything."

"No, it pretty well flattened the structure here and there are no protruding members or heavy wiring to entangle it. As far as our troops have been able to survey it, the GINN is unencumbered." The aide replied briskly.

"Then I should be able to get it up." Kayla said confidently. "I will be able to maneuver here in the garden as I need to, won't I? I mean, the place is pretty much destroyed already and I'm going to have to do some more damage if I'm going to get the suit turned over and upright."

"As long as there is no more significant damage to the buildings, you may move the suit as required." The Commander growled.

"Thank you sir!" She saluted him and headed for the cockpit.

He'd bought it! She was a ZAFT cadet pilot as far as this Commander was concerned at this moment. Now, to get this GINN up and out before the real replacement pilot showed up!

The GINN was down on its right side, leaving the cockpit sitting at right angles to the Plant's directional gravity. One of the troopers apparently attached to the Commander's group gave her a hand up to the side of the hatch. She was careful not to grip too tightly and not to throw all her weight on his arm. She was supposed to be another Coordinator after all; she should be strong enough herself to not need a lot of help here. Fortunately, there were good places for her feet and her free hand to go so she could use his help mostly for balance.

Once up, it was a matter of stepping carefully into the cockpit itself. Here the difference between Natural and Coordinator wasn't so obvious. It was a small, cramped space filled with surprisingly delicate machinery. Anyone would have to be very careful where they put their hands and feet trying to climb into it sideways. Tipping herself onto the seat was a very awkward affair but she managed to hold herself in place long enough to get the safety harness engaged. Once she got that tightened securely, things got much easier.

The layout was identical to the simulators. This simplified her life immeasurably. A quick check located the mission disc still in the data port. That made all things possible. A tap on the units input board told her nothing had actually been shut down. So all the passwords and keys were probably still operational.

She glanced up at the trooper standing in the hatch and gave him a thumbs up. He returned it and scrambled down off the GINN. She barely paid him any mind as he and the rest of the soldiers, along with the Commander and his aide, pulled out of the garden and clear of the area where she was going to be rolling about eighty tons of mobile suit in very shortly. More careful work brought the stations and screens of the unit live. She studied each with attention, making sure it was working before she powered on the next. It might be slow, but there were times when no matter how desperate things were, you didn't rush if you wanted to survive. This was one of them. Especially since she wasn't going to be able to run with any of them dark this time. That would be noticed by the other mobile suits around her.

"Cadet Grayhawk, is there a problem?" The voice on the comm belonged to the Commander. Oh great, a micro-manager. She hated ranking officers like him.

"Not that I've found yet sir." She replied briskly. "I'll have the last few systems on line here in a moment. This unit took a bad jarring going down like this, I wouldn't want to rush and overlook a trouble indicator."

"Well be quick about it. The entire cadet mother ship is waiting for you and this GINN."

"Yes sir." The what was doing what! Holy f'ing H! They wanted her to not only get this thing up, they wanted her to load onto a transport and go out to fight the EA? What the hell had she gotten herself into?

First things first. She wasn't loading this GINN on anything unless she could get it back on its feet. Boards hot, cockpit closed, all systems reporting operational, it was time to see if the real thing worked like the simulator.

Kayla extended both the left arm and leg, putting both on the ground as far out as she could reach. She began to extend the right arm and draw up the right leg. As the suit rose slightly, she began to allow the left side to bend slightly, turning the entire suit. In less than two minutes, she had the GINN up on all fours. Extending the arms while letting the body settle back over the lower legs got her further upright. Lifting with both legs slightly let her set up a tripod balance until she could pull the right one forward. Only then did she really try to stand. She put some power into the movement, using the momentum to swing the body upright and to bring the feet together under it. She had the mobile suit up.

Without waiting for the obvious orders, Kayla turned it around and headed for the break in the wall. Within two steps she knew she didn't have the skill to walk it over the broken stonework. But, unless reality differed vastly from simulation, she could fly it over. A powerful kickoff on the left leg and a hard hit on the thrusters sent her about thirty feet into the air and carried the mobile suit about fifty feet forward. She punched the thrusters again before momentum could be lost and succeeded in clearing the wall. She carefully settled the GINN upright on the pavement beyond the wall.

She was in a whole new world. There were neatly laid out lines of massive hangers stringing out nearly as far as she could see. All kinds of ZAFT space going mobile suits were moving in steady lines from her left to her right. Looking right, she could see at least a dozen huge docking bays in the distance.

Yeah, they were stripping the place bare all right. And here she sat, Lieutenant Kayla Grayhawk, 421st Air Wing, 3d Mobile Squadron, North Atlantic Federation, in an enemy mobile suit about to be sent out on the battle lines of the wrong side! Life was just chock full of interesting little ironies these days.

"Cadet Grayhawk?"

She looked up at the comm screen to see a face in a ZAFT helmet addressing her. The markings indicated he was a Master Chief. Who, she abruptly remembered, outranked a mere cadet.

"Yes Chief, I'm Grayhawk. What are your orders?"

"Follow me. I'll get you to the mother ship. You will be taking Cadet Ansel's place in the Gold Squad. Word is the Natural bastards are going to be moving up again soon; we need to get you cadets into position as quickly as we can."

"Yes sir. I'll follow you. Taking Cadet Ansel's spot in Gold Squad. Is there anything else I should know at this time, sir?"

"No, you'll hear more as the information becomes available."

"Yes sir!"

So they were coming again very soon now. Yeah, given Blue Cosmos, they would come and come until they were beaten beyond any question or the Plants were all destroyed. With Boaz gone there was nothing but the ships and mobile suits of ZAFT between those nukes and the fragile glass houses of the Plants. No wonder ZAFT was pulling out anyone and everyone who could manage a mobile suit and throwing them on the lines. She fell in behind the Chief's GINN very thoughtfully.

* * *

"She isn't here."

Roland Ito looked up at his daughter-in-law wearily, not sure just what she was trying to tell him. "I fail to understand you. What do you mean 'she isn't here'? Where is she?"

"That's a very good question." Serin Ito replied as she sat tiredly and reached for the hot tea and the sugar jar. "I can tell you with assurance now that Grayhawk is not in the building or the garden. She was not crushed under the damned mobile suit like Anya and Lissa were. She has managed to vanish. With all the recorders and security cameras knocked out by that wretched machine, we have no way of knowing how she left. What we can know for sure is that if she got out of the Project, she did it through the break in the wall."

"I thought you just assured me she is not in the building."

Serin just looked at him. "Roland, she is not in the Project's containment facility. However, there are some two dozen buildings that are part of this site that we haven't finished searching and sealing yet. It will take hours, perhaps a full day, to complete that part of the hunt. When that GINN came down, it took out the security locks to a lot of places for far too long. Worse, we did not react appropriately anything like quickly enough. I understand needing to secure the clinic and the genetic storage banks but _some_ thought could have been given to securing our only prisoner as well. Leaving a girl that sharp and that determined to her own devices for nearly an hour before even beginning to look for her was a grave mistake."

"Yes, yes, I admit that it was!" Dr. Ito growled. "But this is a Plant. Where could a Natural girl dressed as a prisoner-of-war hope to go in a Plant?"

She sighed. "You still do not see do you? You are determined to keep thinking she is a normal Natural girl who is afraid of us and who is not able to hide from us. You are being just what she calls you, a stubborn old goat! Kayla Grayhawk fears very little and Coordinators are not on her short list! She does not see us as un-natural space monsters, Roland. No woman who is as eager in a man's bed as she is with Adrian harbors any hidden thoughts of his being some kind of evil science horror! Think for once, Father Ito! She wants his children! She is happy to be pregnant by him! She has none of the emotional baggage you are used to in Earth Forces soldiers. _She_ thinks of us as the great triumph of Natural science! She is actually _proud_ of the skills that created us and the Natural scientists that did the work! Kayla is that rare and very dangerous Natural who can walk in a crowd in a Plant and not betray herself because she is not cringing away from everyone around her even by the slightest bit."

The tea went down smoothly and, with the extra heavy load of sugar she stirred into it, laden with a hefty energy boost as well. "It is foolish to assume she is still wearing the green dress too. Once out of the containment area, there are several places inside the Project where she could have picked up either civilian clothing or a ZAFT uniform. Despite the dangers of wearing either, I would assume she's changed and base my search on that."

An irritated scowl marred the old man's still hansom face. "What makes you so sure of all this twaddle?"

"I ran her psych tests." Dr. Serin Ito replied flatly.

He ran an angry hand through his hair, spiking it up in all directions. "Very well, my all-knowing son's wife, then where is the damned girl?"

"No idea." She told him calmly. "I understand the basis of her decision-making process. That does not mean I know what the decisions are going to be. I can give you probabilities though. For example, I would set odds of better than eighty percent that she has escaped the Project site altogether. She knows something of the workings of the ZAFT, it is possible she would try to slip in there and look for a way off the Plant. But that is a terribly bad risk and she is not prone to truly long-odds chances. It would be more like her, odds wise that is, to have found civilian clothing and slipped off the base and into the general population of Aprilius. However, she has no money and no knowledge of how the Plant is laid out or where to find food or shelter. Thus while I am confident she has gone, I do remain stumped as to where she went."

He snorted. "Oh, how useful! Might just as well claim she's off with that GINN!"

Serin Ito stopped, hand half way to the teapot. "Well, that's actually a possibility. She spent an inordinate amount of time in the simulator. Adrian did tell me she was good enough with it to likely be able to operate an actual GINN. Not that she'd be an ace with it or anything so silly, but she could get it to move, to fly, and could handle simple combat. If she'd had half a chance at a flight suit, yes, I could definitely see her trying to steal a GINN."

He stared at her for a second, then threw his head back and laughed. "Eh, that was funny! The girl's a Natural! She can't pilot a GINN, idea's completely absurd!"

But he got no laugh back. "Adrian swears she's that good."

Roland started at her. "She's a Natural! She can't possibly handle software meant for one of us!"

"Of course she could!" Serin snapped. "She just couldn't do it as well as we can. You know what kind of intelligence she has, you've seen the test results yourself! How can you ever imagine a girl like that couldn't learn? Especially since you've made the instruction both handy and unrestricted? Really, did you hear nothing Adrian was trying to tell you about the dangers of letting her have that access? Roland, she is a _combat_ officer! Adrian risked his life in a deadly battle to capture her! This girl has spent a full _year_ as a mobile armor pilot and **lived** to talk about it! She is fully familiar with the realities of kill or be killed! STOP SELLING HER SHORT!"

"I, . . . . . . no, she can't, . . . . . .Serin she's pregnant with my only chance for a great-grandson! She can't possibly be out in some GINN!"

There was a very long silence, then she set the teacup down carefully. "I see. You let yourself get so wrapped up in the hope of renewing the family that you refused to honestly look at the woman you were using to do it. You really don't have any idea what Kayla Grayhawk is capable of do you? Well, you'd better go back up to your office and take those damned blinders off and STUDY the girl! Because your great-grand_children_ have probably just gone out to meet the EA in a stolen GINN!"

He rose. "I'll have to call Base Command and . . ."

"You'll do no such stupid thing!" Serin snapped. "They've got a major battle on their hands and everyone is on a hair trigger! You tell them that one of their mobile suits is being stolen by an enemy officer and they'll just kill her! Think before you open your big mouth Roland! The EA is coming with nukes for god's sake! They'll all shoot before they think right now!"

The old man slowly sank back into his seat. "Oh, Serin, what do I do?"

"Nothing." She said quietly. "It's out of our hands now. We will search and hunt here and make sure I'm not guessing wrong. But if I'm right and she is out there, then only God can help her now. So perhaps, . . . . . . . . . . perhaps 'nothing' is the wrong answer. Perhaps I should suggest prayer."

"Yes." He agreed softly. "I remember how to do that."


	16. Chapter 16

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The Thoms Team deployed off the _Gagarin_ in the fifth defense line. There was only one more behind them and that, they all knew, would be made up of who ever and what ever could be scavenged out of the corners. As far as reality went, they were the Plant's last chance. If the Earth Forces got this far, the Team **_had_** to stop them; because no one behind them would be able to.

At their Captain's order, the Team took up a scattered defensive stance. There were no neat lines here. The object of this positioning was to make sure no more than two mobile suits could be hit with any one shot. It wasn't possible to prevent any given enemy from lining up on two, but you could plan a setup that kept them from getting three. For that same reason, no suit was really close to any other in the Team. It was a formation with its own inherent dangers but it did let them pour fire on any organized attacking force from a distance and that had enabled them to chop up the incoming enemy more than once into bites they could handle when they got close.

Other Teams all around them were setting up in the formations they were most comfortable with as well. Unlike the front three lines, they were intended as a static defense and did not have any over all formation coordination. Lance Thoms knew that if the Earth Forces got this far the idea of staying static would have to go out the window but until then he let his people get as comfortable as they could.

The enemy was closing on wreckage of Boaz. Thoms kept his attention roving around the area, trying to get a feel for this battlefield. They were stationed well up the line between lost Boaz and Jachin Due on the Jachin Due end. Whatever the EA planned, they would almost certainly be coming right through his Team if they intended to hit the far Plants with their filthy nukes.

His own scanners weren't adequate to let him get a real reading on the approaching EA fleet but there was some data being relayed through Jachin Due so he knew about where they were and roughly how soon battle would be joined. He also knew there were one hell of a lot of them coming. The odds here were ugly. He scanned the Teams around him; discreetly listening in to see how nerves and moral were doing among the people his Team was going to have to depend on for survival.

He was reassured to discover that most of the Teams in this immediate area were veterans like his. There was little display of pre-battle nerves and a good deal of constructive inter-Team planning going on. Too bad it had waited until the day of the fight to get started but at least some kind of basic cross-group signals were being swiftly agreed upon so any given Team could get fast help from a neighbor without going through all the details of the formal ZAFT system. This too, Lance knew, would break down into every mobile suit doing whatever it could to save itself and whomever was close if the enemy managed to close to beam saber range.

They had been in place perhaps an hour, and had most of the inter-Team setups done when he noted the _Lovel_ passing between their line and the Plants, strewing mobile suits as it went. So, the sixth line was actually going to exist. He shook his head in pity. Those people were so much dead meat if the battle got to them.

He checked his screens one more time. The EA was close to firing range. The battle for Jachin Due was about to start. Yes! There were the opening salvos! He hoped the sixth line could get itself sorted out quickly because it was not going to have the luxury of time to do it right.

"Captain," Adrian Ito's face flickered onto his intercom screen. "We've got a bunch of kids behind us. Third class cadets. Gold, Green, Silver, and Blue squads."

Thoms sighed. "Nothing we can do, Ito. They have a Master Chief for each squad so they aren't entirely leaderless. It's too late to try to teach them survival skills now. They either will or will not make it through this fight on their own. We can't protect them. We have to protect the Plants."

"Yes sir, I know. I just wanted you to know they were back there. I remember being a third cadet myself and I know my judgment wasn't worth pissing on at that point. They could be a problem if they shoot as wildly as I did at that stage."

"We can only hope their Chiefs can keep them in line."

"Yeah."

Third cadets eh? He sincerely didn't need this. A bunch of less than quarter-trained kids at his back with live weapons they barely knew how to aim. He prayed they didn't see any of the enemy this deep in the lines. Those kids would throw energy all over the sky and God alone knew what they'd hit.

* * *

Kayla settled herself deeply into the GINN's seat. This was NOT where she was supposed to be in this battle. She was _supposed_ to be on the other side. Part of her was very uneasy with that, part was not. The part in charge though was the part that could not accept the thought that her people could be allowed to use those nukes on civilians ever again.

In the interim aboard the _Lovel_, she'd made what preparations she could for the battle. There was water in the GINN's reserve now, and nutrient drink as well. The sanitary system was fully connected and tested for leaks. She knew she wasn't going to rupture her bladder or flood her flight suit; both important things to know going into a major fight that could have a lengthy timeframe to it.

And she knew she was in possibly the worst place for someone with her limited skills to be. Everyone around her was half-trained and greener than spring grass. The Master Chief for Gold Squad had them lined up neatly in a nice, tight bunch he could control but that made them nothing but one big fat sitting target. And the veteran Teams in the line in front of them had already sent word back, very pointed word at that, to watch what they shot at.

There was a major firefight developing rapidly around Jachin Due. This section of the line was quiet at the moment but it wouldn't stay that way long. There were too many men and machines intent on killing each other in this tiny corner of space today.

The kids in the Squad were chattering back and forth nervously. Kayla didn't bother to say anything. Anything useful would give her away; anything else would only contribute to the fraying nerves of the Squad. Besides, she was pretty involved with trying to keep up with all the data her machine was giving her.

This time she had the full boards up and hot. If she shut something off now, the Chief would know about it and ask her why it was down. She couldn't afford to be inventing answers so she had to leave it all on. The data flood was threatening to drown her.

"They'll not get by Jachin Due!" One of the more boastful of the kids announced firmly for what was probably the twentieth time since they'd unloaded.

She wished he'd shut up. She wished they'd all just shut up. They weren't doing themselves any good yakking like that. The empty babble was only raising the tension levels.

Her mind tried to slip into the familiar frozen clarity of her personal combat state. The enemy was coming. They were bringing nuclear weapons to use against the innocents in the glass houses behind her. That was unacceptable. That disgrace could not be allowed to happen again!

She knew none of those people. It was irrelevant. They _were_ people. They were mothers, small children, annoying old goats, and everyday folks just going about everyday living.

Coordinators were the work of Natural hands! They did not deserve to be murdered just because they were alive! They hadn't asked to be created! **If they were a monumental space fort, everyone would be proud as hell of them!** But no, they were living beings, so everyone was **_jealous_** as hell of them! THAT DIDN'T GIVE _ANYONE_ THE RIGHT TO JUST SLAUGHTER THEM!

Her hand slammed down on the comm button and cut it off. This kind of rage was unusable and dangerous, it had to be dumped. She sucked air into the very bottom of her lungs, and shrieked. She drove the rage into the sound, pouring it out with the air from her lungs, letting it rise in shrillness until it was well past just painful to the ears. She sustained the sound as long as she could, forcing as much of the anger and the fear the nukes had set into her out through it as she possibly could. Eventually, she ran out of air.

Kayla sat panting in the seat. It got rid of the worst of the rage alright but it definitely had a price tag. This had cost her a lot of energy, both emotional and physical energy that she knew she was going to wish she hadn't had to spend before long. A blinking light on the comm board grabbed her attention. Oh, yeah, someone had noticed her dropping offline. She toggled her comm back on.

"Grayhawk! Respond! Cadet, are you all right?"

"Yes Chief, I'm all right." Kayla replied grimly. "I just didn't think everyone needed my screaming rage in their ears."

"Those bastards!" Kayla heard the fear under the anger clearly. She couldn't pull the boy's name right at this instant, they'd only been introduced once when everyone boarded the _Lovel_, but she had no trouble visualizing him. Kid couldn't be out of secondary school yet and someone expected him to fight in _this_ battle? This one was going to be a holy horror for an experienced vet! She heard the same tones in all the kids' voices. They were already half way to breaking. She didn't blame them. Nukes had that effect on people.

The Chief moved on to the next cadet, trying to bring the Squad back under some kind of control. The veteran mobile armor pilot studied the expanding battle, tuning out the others around her since the Chief was there to deal with them. The Alliance fleet was pushing up quickly, too quickly. It was getting itself bunched up against the relentless ZAFT defense. Alliance mobile suit squadrons were gouging deep slashes into the front ranks of the ZAFT defense but the ZAFT mobile suits were closing them almost as fast as they opened.

This was a war of attrition ZAFT could not sustain. They didn't have the reserves for it. They might win this battle, they looked to be killing far more than they were losing, but the sheer numbers of dead were going to leave them vulnerable to a second attempt later. More importantly, where was the second wave of Peacekeepers? They'd done an end-around at Boaz when they'd killed that fortress and that's what she was looking for again. The Moebius mobile armors weren't going to be hauling any nukes through the center of the main battle, they'd never make it.

There! On the left flank, at least one battleship and four or more others! They were already well clear of the majority of the serious fighting. They would be in a position to launch very soon!

"Chief! Company on the left!" Kayla shouted on the general ZAFT frequency, reeling off the coordinates of the breakaway Alliance group.

* * *

Adrian's head came up as a clear girl's voice shouted over the combat frequency, "Chief! Company on the left!" and the precise coordinates for what looked like a small attack force. That 'Chief' made the alert soldier one of the cadets. They weren't a total waste after all.

He studied the newly identified group. Battleship, big one but too far to get a clear definition of class yet, and what looked like carriers maybe? The nuclear attack group? It would make sense. This was a flanking movement, same as the one that got Boaz. He made a hasty check of his boards for any similar group anywhere else in his detection range and came up blank.

"Thoms Team! We have identification for the new splinter group. It is one _Archangel_ Class battleship and four _Agamemnon_ Class! There are a number of mobile suits with them, including three distinctive suits first identified during the Battle of Aube. Be very careful of those strange suits! They are uniquely equipped and the pilots are exceptionally skilled." The Captain's announcement focused the entire Team on the new ships.

"This is the nuclear group, isn't it?" Yuri asked, his normally cheerful voice icy.

"It sure looks like a great candidate for it." Adrian replied bitterly.

"This fights coming our way!" Someone from one of the further out Teams shouted.

There was a sharp snort on the line. "This bitch-kitty is coming everyone's way. Don't get greedy."

Oh, yes, it certainly was! And doing it fast too. The front lines were not going to hold! Adrian began to get solid data on the battle as it rolled toward the Team and he shared it out. The surrounding teams, and those of the cadets behind him who had either the sense or the guts to check, were getting near-real time updates now.

It was the three special mobile suits. They were the ones carving the hole in the front. They were seriously overpowered compared to the GINN's they were facing and much better armored as well. Worse, whoever was flying them didn't fly like any Natural Adrian had ever seen before. What kind of traitor would bring nuclear weapons against the civilians in the Plants? Whoever they were, he wanted a part of them!

"All right." Lance Thoms' voice cut through all the other chatter on the comms. "We aren't going to try to make any kind of firm stand. Those bastards are chopping anyone who sits still apart. Go to two-suit sub-teams. We need maximum mobility and minimum exposure! Configure sub-teams now!"

The twelve suits of the Team coalesced into six pairs. Adrian now had the steady security of Yuri off his left shoulder. He had a bad feeling it wouldn't be enough. He hoped they could live through this one.

"We are moving up now! We need all the space we can get between those bastards and the Plants!"

The Team hit their thrusters as one; headed directly for the killing ground.

* * *

The cadet squads lost their leadership as the veterans ahead of them moved up to meet the enemy. Kayla was not very surprised to hear some sector officer order the Master Chiefs to form up with the Teams ahead and move up as well. They were going to need everyone they had up there who knew what he was doing. But it left the kids leaderless and on the verge of panic.

"Chief! Chief! What do we do?"

She sat back and let them yell. There would be no working with most of them until they grasped that they'd been abandoned. Fortunately, these kids were mostly made of some pretty good stuff. They shut up within minutes of the departure of their familiar officers. There were still a few crying for help but they were being shushed by their fellows.

"So, what do we do?" Someone asked in a small voice.

"We kill the nukes." Kayla told them all. "Everyone else has gone up. That leaves us back here with one hell of a gap between us. We just got elected to the hero's seat, God help us."

"What the hell are you talking about? And who are you anyway?"

"Names Kayla Grayhawk. And we are falling back people. We need even more space than we already have." She looked around to find she had about sixty cadets bunched up now. "We have to get closer to the Plants, so we are shooting out at the nukes as they come in."

"Out at the nukes?"

"Are you crazy? The battle's up there! I'm not running away!"

"Are you a Coordinator or not? If you are, plug in your 'superior' brain before you shoot off your big mouth!" She snapped. "The line won't hold. It can't. Those three killer suits are far too much for any GINN! But the nukes are coming in on mobile armors and they can't handle any ZAFT mobile suit at all! So we have to get close to the Plants so when they come out from behind those suits, we can hit them! Or are any of you really dumb enough to think you'll live five seconds up there?"

"We've gotta try!"

"You've gotta make yourself COUNT!" Kayla screamed. "And you can't do that dead! Don't play to their strengths, play to what strengths YOU HAVE!"

"There're only sixty of us, we'll never stop them all!"

"Then we stop every last one we can." She snarled. "Now make up your minds! That fight is getting close!"

"She's right." The speaker sounded like he was one of the older, better trained kids. "And at least she's got a plan! I don't hear one from anybody else besides 'lets go get killed'!"

"All right. Whadda we do?"

"Follow me! What flat grid pattern is _everyone_ most familiar with?" She had them! Now if she could just get them organized and moved in time! She turned her GINN and cut in the thrusters, leading the entire mob on a race toward the Plants as they planned the layout on the go.


	17. Chapter 17

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

They'd launched the mobile armors with the nukes! Adrian pointed them out to Captain Thoms and he tried to bring the Team in behind the defending mobile suits to reach them. But those three killers were far too alert.

Adrian and Yuri had flown together long enough to be able to make battle plans with hand signs and few words. It was the only thing that kept them alive in the first five minutes of the battle. They very quickly became chop and change artists. Nothing they tried worked a second time. Damn few things worked once.

With Adrian covering, Yuri did get off a couple shots at the mobile armors. He didn't hit them, he was forced to move too quickly to get a good line, but he did give them a bad fright. Around them, the Thoms Team was dying.

The three strange suits were ungodly fast. Worse, they were equipped with a new variant of phase shift armor that only activated when it was hit. So while he could and did pour fire in on any one of them, he wasn't doing any real damage. Moreover, the counterattacks were vicious and terrifyingly quick.

"Just lost Marksen and Oni." Yuri reported dispassionately. "We're down to less than half strength."

"We have to find a way past these bastards to those nukes!" Adrian cried as he evaded the spiked hammer head from the dark machine again; then had to roll wildly to avoid being torn apart on the line that tethered it.

"The Joule Team will be here to help any second!"

That might just actually _be_ a help. Joule had one of the stolen EA prototypes, the Duel. It stood a lot better chances in this fight than any other suit out here so far. Unfortunately, the rest of his team wasn't any better equipped than the Thoms Team and was just as likely to be a free lunch for these bastards.

Then there were more ZAFT mobile suits around him again. Joule's people had arrived. And they ripped right past him, headed for the mobile armors and their deadly payloads.

"NO! Pay attention to the defenders!" Adrian shouted.

He was too late for several. The Joule Team learned the hard way what the Thoms Team had learned the same way. You couldn't turn your back on those killers. And you couldn't strike at the nukes unless you got the rabid dogs off you. Joule himself managed to pound the killers a bit but he was essentially alone. It wasn't a job anyone could do alone.

"They're launching!" Someone shrieked in despair.

No! Adrian forgot survival for himself. He snapped away from the swing of the scythe blade and cut in all thrusters. There was only the necessity of stopping the missiles now. He opened fire with everything he had that could reach them.

"'Rin! Behind you!"

He heard Yuri and ignored him. The closest of the mobile armors was just in range! He fired again only to pick up something coming at him with terrible speed. The flinch was instinct. He couldn't control it. But it meant when the scythe struck, it only removed the GuAIZ's legs. That took an entire set of thrusters away though and sent him spinning out of control. The nuke carriers were suddenly out of reach.

* * *

"Spread out! Spread out on the grid like we agreed, damn it! They're coming! Move!" Kayla yelled.

"They've launched!" She didn't know where that warning came from but it told her she was out of time.

"Screw it! Everyone just face out where ever you are and get set! They'll be on us in moments!"

She spun her GINN and checked her readouts. Dear God they were close! And there were so few defenders left still trying to stop them!

"Steady!" She shouted. "Take the time to aim! We can't afford to miss!"

Something was coming in from her relative left. It was moving even faster than the speeding missiles. It was bigger than any mobile suit but smaller than any combat ship. Then she caught it on her screen as it spread its wings to fire.

_**THUNDERBIRD! THAT WAS THE THUNDERBIRD!**_

A glory of white and blue erupted lightenings and missiles straight into the path of the oncoming nukes. Kayla threw her arm across her eyes. The universe lit with the fireworks of hell.

The lights died in seconds and she dropped her arm to stare. A mobile suit encased in some kind of booster screamed past her. Wait! That was Freedom!

Another dot moving just as swiftly caught her attention. This time she realized what it was immediately. It was a second mobile suit in another of those impossibly fast boosters! Then it also spread its 'wings'. She saw the white and red machine erupt with the same lightenings and missile barrage as the Freedom had put up.

She covered her eyes again on instinct. For a second time, hells fireworks lit everything in the area with a brutal and pitiless light. When the light went down, so did her arm. The red machine shot past her just like the white and blue one had before. This, this had to be Justice!

"That was not Thunderbird. They are only his mortal Children."

Snowy Owl's words suddenly rang in her head. Freedom and Justice, their pilots were the children of the THUNDERBIRD? What sort of mortal people could carry that kind of spirit power?

A searing bolt from a massive energy gun ripped across space in front of her, striking a late arriving nuke and detonating it. Kayla brought her own gun up. Where there was one, there could be more. And there were.

"Hey! Heads up everyone! Those guys didn't get them all!"

The fire from the cadet grid was ragged and the aim was 'interesting' but if the nuke got in range, they did knock it down. There were others picking off strays outside their zone of control. She paid enough attention to recognize the Buster and the Strike as well as the Duel out there hammering any nuke they could find. Within a few minutes, it was over. There were no more inbound nukes. There were damn few outbound mobile armors left too.

"Did we do it?"

"Yeah, I think we did."

"Oh, wow!"

"We won!"

Yeah, they'd won all right. For the moment at least. But the battle as a whole was far from over. Kayla studied her screens. The fight had degenerated into a massive mess of ships and mobile suits scattered all over the stretch between the wreckage of Boaz and Jachin Due. It was the biggest furball of a battle she'd ever seen, even including that messy, sky-hogging fight at Luna One!

Fortunately for the cadets, the action was all well away from them. They were close enough to the Plants themselves to have the place all to themselves. The nearest EA units were currently being driven even further from their position by the fury of the surviving defensive line troops formerly stationed directly ahead of them.

"Hey Kayla! Now what should we do?"

"We hold our positions." She told them. "The nukes seem to be gone but that can't be said for the rest of the Alliance. We're still the last line of defense if any suicidal ship or mobile suit breaks past the line to try to ram a Plant."

Someone snorted derisively. "What are the odds of that happening? Look at how they're getting their butts beat!"

"The odds don't matter." Kayla said grimly. "All it takes is one suit or ship to get free of that giant furball over there and there's a Plant gone! Forget any question of odds. We aren't about odds! We're about final insurance and final insurance alone!"

She got protests, lots of them. All she could do was repeat her orders and hope they'd be obeyed. It wasn't like she had any authority here after all. It took a while but eventually, she won over the senior cadets who the others did recognize as having command positions and the arguing stopped.

With the help of the four squad seniors, she got the cadets spread out into a genuinely effective grid. Now if someone did break free and try for a Plant, this group was probably going to be able to stop them. Even as they did their set-up though, the battle continued to be pushed further from the Plants. Kayla was privately relieved. The kids were all raring to go but she'd watched them shooting at the nukes and knew they weren't ready to take on a truly desperate and suicidal enemy. They wouldn't get through but they would take a lot of these kids down with them and she honestly didn't want that to happen.

Lu, senior of the Gold Squad drifted up beside her and popped a private communications line onto her GINN.

"You need something Lu?" She asked, wondering what had to be private.

"Just an honest answer to one question."

"I'm listening."

"Are you actually a ZAFT cadet?"

Kayla stared at the other's GINN. "What brings that up?"

"Oh, just that I've never heard any ZAFT pilot call a battle a furball before. But my brother has told me the EA pilots do."

The kid's weapon was still in his GINN's hip rack. So this wasn't going to lead to any instant attack. She hissed in irritation and admiration. This was the problem with dealing with a really, really smart kid. They saw things.

"Kayla Grayhawk, First Lieutenant, 421st Air Wing, 3d Moebius Squadron. Someone dropped this machine in a place where I was able to, uhm, lets say borrow it."

There was silence on the line. She monitored the battle while Lu digested what she'd told him. It was still a confused mess but ZAFT appeared to be getting a solid upper hand.

"Why would an Earther officer help defend the Plants?"

"Because genocide is wrong." She snapped. "We already have a big enough permanent stain on our honor on account of Junius Seven. This, this would have been unforgivable! It's legitimate to think it wrong to have ever created Coordinators, that's an opinion and everyone's entitled to their own. But it's not legitimate to try to enforce that opinion by destroying innocent lives just because they happen to be Coordinators. That's murder and murder is always wrong. It's just as wrong as your nutcase Chairman's idea of getting rid of all my people."

"So do you think we're a mistake?"

"Good question. I really don't know." Kayla told him frankly. "Having you around has created a lot of problems but most of the problems are coming from inside people's heads, not from things you folks have done. I don't blame you for anyone else being jealous of you. That's their fault, not yours. And I can't argue with you declaring war after Junius Seven either. Someone blew away 200,000 plus of my people with no warning and for no good reason and I'd be painting for war too. I'm just not sure if making you guys just because they could was smart on anyone's part. Brilliant, mind you, it was amazingly brilliant, but maybe not very smart. I kinda wish George Glenn had kept his mouth shut about what he was, you know?"

"What would that have changed?"

"It would have let the technology develop a few more generations until it was more reliable for one thing. And it would have let people get used to it in stages instead of demanding they swallow it all in one big, indigestible lump. I doubt it would have prevented something like Blue Cosmos from ever coming into being but it sure would never have become as strong as it has that way."

"I'll have to think about that. I'm not sure you're right about that." Lu replied quietly. "By the way though, that unit, isn't it the Tomahawk's squadron?"

"It was." She agreed shortly. "Captain Thoms tells me my people got cut down at Panama. 3d Moebius is gone. I may be the only one left."

"You weren't with them?"

"No, I got shot down at JOSH-A. My Zero wasn't ready in time when the rest of the Squadron went south. When I picked myself up out of the wreckage, one of your people decided he liked what he saw and grabbed me just before the damned Cyclops blew."

"Oh." Lu chewed on that for a bit, then suddenly demanded; "Hey! If you're the First Lieutenant for 3d Squadron, doesn't that mean you're Tomahawk?"

"My name is Grayhawk! I despise that stupid nickname all right?"

"But it is you?"

"Yes. It's me. Satisfied? Now don't call me that!"

"No, Ma'am!"

"Kayla, use Kayla. I'm not one of your officers after all."

"But you are an officer! I can't call an officer by her first name! It isn't right."

"You got my permission. Just do it."

"But, . . . . . "

Kayla had been monitoring the battle all through the conversation. Part of that had included flipping through the ZAFT combat channels just to get a feel for how things were going. One of those flips had turned up a familiar voice, an angry familiar voice shouting a couple of familiar names.

"Lu! Shut up! I need to listen here!" She interrupted the kid.

". . . . Holman! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Adrian! That was Adrian!

"You and your friends will just get killed in combat. No more problems for me. And I'll get the Team as senior survivor."

"You've lost your mind!" She didn't know that one either.

"Naw, Lubbek, my mind is working just fine. Now get outta the way or die with the bastard!"

"There is no Team to get Holman." That was Thoms! "The four of us are all that's left. And don't delude yourself with any dreams of command. Not after dropping that girl and her GINN in the Project's garden! The very best you'll get is junior on a newly assembled Team. People don't like or trust you."

"I'll get a Team! I deserve one! I'm better than this Natural-screwing son-of-a-bitch!"

"The hell you are." Adrian Ito's voice whispered. "You got your ass shot down over JOSH-A by that Natural. And she could do it again!"

"Lu! Take charge here!" Kayla snapped.

"Where are you going?"

"To return a favor."

"I can't let an Alliance officer just run off like this."

She turned to see GINN's hand slipping toward its beam gun. "Lu, I owe Ito my life.

"I can't!"

"Were you listening!" She shouted.

"Yes, but I can't!"

"Well, I'm the Natural he's been screwing and he's the father of my twins! Now get out of my way!"

The GINN's hand stopped. Then the private comm line dropped. Suddenly, Lu's machine was pulling back, clearing her way.

"I'll take care of the Squads, Kayla. You take care of your friend!" Lu shouted over the open channel.

"I owe you one, Lu!"

She hit her thrusters for all they were worth. Adrian was a good way away. She could only pray he lived long enough for her to get there. Locked onto the signal, she shot across the battlefield.


	18. Chapter 18

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The odds stank. Adrian assessed what he had and didn't like any of it. His GuAIZ hadlost both legs to the wicked scythe of the Alliance mobile suit. This had cost him thrusters, meaning both speed and agility. The loss had had an adverse affect on his entire electrical system as well, making his weapons just that much slower to react to his control's commands. Captain Thoms was in worse shape. His unit was down both legs and the right arm no longer worked at all, also damage done by that same murderous Alliance suit.

At least Lubbek's GINN was in working order. Problem was, he was low on power. He'd admitted that just before Holman had come up on them. Unfortunately, he'd been talking on the Team's frequency so Trace had likely heard him.

A scan of Holman's GINN indicated it was in perfect condition. Since it was likely he'd run like a rabbit from the enemy, he probably wasn't hurting for power yet either. He was in a position to take all three of them if he just handled his machine right. The only silver lining Adrian could see, and it was a thin one, was simply that Trace was a third rate pilot. The one hope they had was out-flying him with their damaged units.

Holman was in showoff mode. He cruised in on them slowly, making fairly flashy evasive moves each time one of them fired on him. Captain Thoms accepted the risk of getting in the way and had nursed his crippled GuAIZ up to Adrian's so they could stand more or less back to back. They were a fat target together like this but they could also support each other this way. Yuri hovered close by, ready to dodge around to take any good shot he could get.

All of them took advantage of Trace's stupidity by getting potshots off at him. None hit for serious damage but they all forced him to burn some of his energy advantage even if it was by no more than it took to dodge them. Then he was close enough to be confident about returning the ill will and the energy loss became a lot more lopsided in his favor.

Adrian knew he was flying better than he'd ever done in his life. He was managing to catch Holman's shots on the shield on his left arm while getting shots off with the arm cannon on the right. He turned fast enough to use that shield to protect Thoms when Lance was vulnerable as Holman tried to hit him in the cockpit from the side. He even managed to get it up quickly enough to cover Yuri's legs when Trace attempted to take those with his sword.

Yet he also knew it wasn't going to matter. His machine, Thoms machine, were both too badly damaged. Holman was going to get past him eventually. And Yuri was going to go power down any time now. There was no one close to call for help.

"You think just because you're from Junius that you're something special. Well you aren't! You hear me Ito, you're just a Natural-loving bastard who'd be up against a wall in a heartbeat if everyone knew what you were doing!" Trace snarled. "And I'm gonna see to it that they do know! I'm gonna see to it that your bitch is given to the entire Fleet as a toy! She's gonna have plenty of Coordinators screwing her before she dies!"

"Oh and you think because your father once worked on the Zala estate you're something of note?" Adrian taunted. "The worthless drunk got fired, Holman. He couldn't hold the job! He still can't hold a job despite the needs of the defense industry 'cause he still won't take his face out of a bottle! He's pathetic! A Coordinator who can't handle his emotions well enough to get medical help! He'd rather stay drunk than admit what everyone already knows!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD! SHUT UP!"

"Why? You're already planning to kill me, why the hell should I shut up? Why shouldn't I let everyone know the drunk's jealous, incompetent son is committing murder? That the guy who let himself get shot down by a Natural girl is so green with envy he's intending to kill off everyone who knows about it and the ace pilot who did it! Well, you'll never get that off your record, _Second Lieutenant_ Holman! So whoever reads it will know. Whatever Team you join, they'll _know_!"

Trace screamed in blind rage, dropped his gun and attacked with his sword. He was swinging wildly, making him both dangerous and ineffective at the same time. Dangerous because there was no science to what he was doing and so very little way to anticipate where he would swing to plan to set a block ahead of him. Ineffective because those wild swings lacked the coordination of plan and aim that would have made real use of the power of the blows that did land. His forgotten gun now drifted far behind him and was receding further with every second.

Adrian was holding Trace off Captain Thoms when the disaster he was expecting hit. Yuri's GINN stopped moving halfway through a sword strike of its own. Lubbek was out of power. Holman instantly switched targets. Adrian couldn't change his defense as quickly. The jealous pilot's sword ripped into Yuri Lubbek's machine.

Adrian slammed his damaged GuAIZ into Holman's GINN, deflecting the sword. Instead of shearing through the pilot's cockpit, the blade tore through the torso just below it. Holman's machine kicked out as it was forced over, catching the ruined lower section of Yuri's GINN to send it spinning away. It didn't go far before it exploded.

Shrapnel from the blast peppered all four machines. Yuri screamed once as his severely damaged GINN was hit by a large fragment. Captain Thoms cursed savagely as the chunk that struck him sent his ruined GuAIZ spinning. Adrian felt like doing the same when he suddenly couldn't move the right arm of his unit any more. A very sizable chunk had hit Holman, knocking him away from the three of them and setting him to rotating. But there was no serious damage that Ito could see; the traitor to the Team would be back in moments.

Adrian got his machine lined up and waited. Behind him, the Captain had managed to slow his spin enough to grab Yuri's wrecked unit. That arrested most of the rest of the spin and allowed Lance to get what was left of his sensors close enough to get a reading on the cockpit.

"Yuri's still with us." Captain Thoms reported quietly. "But he's badly hurt. He needs a doctor."

An obscene giggle cackled over the comm. "Too bad, he's not going to get one."

Neither Team pilot replied. With Yuri out, they could no longer hope to make any kind of stand. Worse, they now had a helpless member of the Team to attempt to defend. And Holman knew it.

Adrian noted there was a GINN coming across the sky at an insanely high rate of speed. It was going to miss them by perhaps a couple of kilometers. Looked like someone had their thrusters jammed on. He wished it was worth making the effort to get hold of that pilot but not with that kind of damage. He couldn't stop or help them at all.

* * *

Kayla heard Thoms tell Adrian someone called Yuri was still alive. That meant that Thoms was in the heavily damaged GuAIZ beside the nearly totaled GINN. That also meant Adrian was in the legless GuAIZ facing the undamaged GINN. So now she knew where everyone was and how to identify the nutjob killer.

It was time to hit the brakes or she was going to overshoot this battle. The thrusters flipped into reverse and she immediately began to slow down. A tap on a vector thruster aimed her at the battle. She was coming up on them fast! Given her speed and her questionable accuracy with the GINN's guns at this speed, Kayla drew the sword.

This thing was intended for chopping up mobile suits and puncturing space ships. She's done very little practicing with it in the simulator. Getting into a sword fight would be fairly stupid. But, using her speed to slam the thing right through the cockpit, now that she could do. Because given what she'd seen coming over here, she was still the better pilot.

Did that ass never check his screens? He was still focused on Adrian! There was a GINN coming up his backside at damned high speed with a drawn sword and he was ignoring it! This idiot deserved to die, being that stupid on a battlefield. SHE knew where everyone close enough to shoot at her was!

"I think I'll cut you apart slowly, Ito. I want to enjoy listening to you die."

"First you have to actually do that, Holman. Your record so far is pretty bad."

"You can't move that arm any more. You can't fight any more."

Damn he sounded so smug! Why did all the idiots of the universe always sound smug? She was about seven seconds from hitting him, time to let him know he had company. She really wanted to hit him right in the front hatch and she couldn't do that unless he turned around.

"Won't be Ito who dies today you braying donkey!" Kayla yelled.

"What?"

"KAYLA?"

"I'm gonna cut you down twice you worthless son-of-a-bitch!"

He hit his vertical thrusters. She anticipated that and was slightly ahead of him. He put more power in it that she had though and was rising faster. He was also twisting around, trying to bring his sword to bear. But seven seconds wasn't enough time. Kayla slammed the blade forward, piercing between the hatch covers of the cockpit. The blade went in clear to the hilt, most of the length jutting out the back of the GINN.

DAMN IT! The angle was wrong! He'd likely ducked under it! The bastard might not be dead yet!

Dead or not, he was not going to be fighting any more. That sword would definitely have damage the control systems beyond combat capability. To hell with him! She let go of the sword and put her thrusters in full reverse.

When she'd driven the sword into Holman's GINN, she'd given it a good chunk of her forward momentum as well. Now her reversed thrusters had no trouble bringing her to a quick relative stop. He, however, continued to drift away fairly rapidly. She turned back to Adrian and his friends.

"All ZAFT forces! Withdraw from projected area preparatory to firing Genesis! All ZAFT forces withdraw at once!"

Firing what? Whatever it was, the alert screen told her she was in the affected area! So were Adrian and the others! She headed for them, thrusters on high for a few seconds to give her enough speed to reach them but not so much she couldn't slow down to gather them up safely.

"Kayla! Get out of here! Your GINN can make it! GO!"

"Have you lost whatever you're using for brains this week? I didn't come over here to save your butt only to lose it now! You grab hold of the other two tight as you can, hear me? You, Thoms, you grab on hard too! I'll get everyone outta range. You're sitting just on the edge! I can do it!"

"Kayla! They'll fire it in seconds! You don't have time! GO!"

"You're on my way out! Now shut up 'cause I'm not changing my mind!"

At least he did what he was told, locking the immobile arm around the other GuAIZ and the working one around the wrecked GINN. Captain Thoms seemed to get secure grips on both other suits as well. Good! Now all she could do was hope they held because she wasn't going to really be holding anyone. She spread the GINN's arms wide and hit the reverse thrusters again.

It was more crash than gentle bump but she did hit right where she wanted to. Her cockpit hatch was directly below the one on that Yuri guy's machine. Her arms held the two GuAIZ units and the other GINN was balanced against hers. She brought the thrusters up as quickly as she dared. The grips all held; the four machines were moving as a unit out of the danger zone.

There was a huge machine now sitting beyond Jachin Due. It hadn't been there moments ago. Mirage colloid, it was the only explanation, it had to have been hidden by mirage colloid.

They were at the edge of the danger zone. Kayla had the thrusters on maximum. She was spending power like she had it and she knew she didn't. The GINN could keep this up for another three minutes, then she was going to be dead out of juice. It didn't matter. If they didn't make it out, all the reserve in the universe wouldn't matter.

A voice shouted over the ZAFT combat channel, "Freedom! Justice! Get out of there! They're going to fire Genesis!"

They were clear! They had made it outside the danger zone! But they were still too close for her comfort. She saw the two mobile suits she thought of as Thunderbird's Children go streaking out of the danger zone on a tangent above her. Someone in ZAFT had warned them! Someone in ZAFT cared for more than the color of a uniform too.

Then she realized Holman was still in the line of fire. So be it. If he wasn't already dead, he would be executed by his own people. That they would not know they were doing it or that he was a minor traitor didn't matter. What counted was ZAFT was taking care of it.

The universe at her back lit with an unbearable white light. Kayla shrieked in pain as it stabbed through her eyes despite the GINN's light filters going instantly to maximum. She threw both arms across her eyes to try to protect them.

The light did not diminish behind her but between the GINN's filters and her arms, she managed to bring the intensity in her eyes down to something bearable. She couldn't see the energy that crackled around that beam. As the last of it passed her machine, she didn't see the stray flicker that struck her GINN either.

See it or no, she felt it. The power surge sent sparks flying from about half of her boards. Most of those promptly went dark. The GINN's thrusters fired in wildly random patterns, tossing her hard against the safety harness in multiple directions. One toss, almost the very last one, caught her at a bad angle as her body slipped inside the flight suit. Agony ripped through her right shoulder and side. She screamed once and the universe went dark.


	19. Chapter 19

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well, I am getting very close to the point where I won't have anything written ahead any longer. This will slow down the updates as I'll have to actually write them before I can post 'em! I will keep the pace as quick as I can but employment does chew up a large chunk of my time. However, paying the bills is a necessity so don't expect me to quit my day job to write fanfic, ok?

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

"Astray Pilot Juri to _Archangel_. I have something odd here." 

"This is _Archangel_, go ahead Astray Juri. What have you found?"

"I have a badly burned GINN clutching three other wrecked ZAFT mobile suits. I'm getting life signs in all four cockpits. They won't last much longer though. They're all running on the last of their reserves."

"Astray Juri, this is Captain Ramius. Can you take them to the _Eternal_?"

"_Eternal_ has its deck occupied right now helping with the emergency repairs for our Astrays. You have the only open deck that can take a mobile suit."

"Have you tried to speak to any of the ZAFT pilots? Are they willing to come aboard what they will see as an Alliance ship?"

"Sorry Captain Ramius but I'm not getting any response. I can't get very good readings but they may all be unconscious."

"All right, bring them in. I'll alert medical and security."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

* * *

"Chief! Which one first?" 

"This GuAIZ. It'll be the easiest one to get out of the group. Are either of the ZAFT kids here yet? I don't want to open this only to have the pilot panic on us."

Adrian stared at his blank comm screen in some confusion. Who the hell was talking? And what ZAFT kids were they talking about? Why should he need reassurance?

There was a slight jar, then he was aware of movement. He was also aware of pain. His left arm didn't want to move. He looked at it, realized that it was bending in places it shouldn't and decided it was a very smart arm. He didn't want to move it either any more.

So, maybe he could move his head safely? He gave that a try and was relieved to find he could. He also quickly learned that trying to move it too far had a negative effect on the broken arm. He could get it high enough to see his screens though.

The first thing he registered was a tall blond in an Earth Forces uniform. The man was talking to a Chief Petty Officer whose uniform was likewise Earth Alliance. So was everyone else's in sight. All right, now he understood why someone was worried about his panicking on them. He was seriously thinking about doing just that.

There was a very gentle bump when the GuAIZ touched the deck. The Chief and the blond officer came over along with several unmistakably medical personnel with a full crash cart and gurney. So they already had enough of a sensor reading to know he was injured. What was missing from the party was heavy security. There was only one man standing as backup and he was holding a stun gun, not a pistol or rifle. They obviously wanted a live prisoner here.

He forced his head higher and endured the pain it sent slamming through his shoulder, arm and left side to get a look at the rest of the hanger. This was one of four such teams he noticed. They were all set up to capture and treat whomever they found inside the machines they'd brought aboard their ship. He could see them already lowering Yuri's shattered GINN and others working to free Captain Thoms GuAIZ from the hold Kayla's GINN had on it. Her machine looked like it had been in a major fire. It looked like they were setting up to take the medical team up to the cockpit rather than try to bring the GINN down to the deck.

A series of clicks drew his attention back to his own hatch. The Chief had a code breaker attached to his external emergency hatch lock. It was a damned good one because he could watch it flipping the correct numbers up in seconds. He had a few more moments to make up his mind and no more.

It was the lack of overt hostility that kept his hand off his sidearm. These people didn't look like they wanted him dead. They didn't look angry, or like they were anticipating a chance to hurt him. Besides, he wasn't sure he could actually draw and fire the thing right now. Then the hatch began to open and it was too late to change his mind. He let his head fall back onto his right side where it had been when he'd regained awareness and waited to see what happened.

"Huh, an Elite like the other kids. Hope he's as reasonable."

"That would be helpful Chief but we can't count on it." The second speaker came closer. "Looks like the left arm is pretty busted up. Left leg is broken too. The safety harness has torn loose on that side. Chances are if he weren't a Coordinator, he wouldn't be alive right now. The whole inside of this GuAIZ looks about as good as the outside does."

"Lt. Commander, if we may please?"

"Eh? Oh, yeah, sorry."

Adrian stayed limp and quiet, just listening as the Alliance medical team did a surprisingly careful examination before they cut him out of the ruin of his safety harness. So he learned that in addition to the broken arm and leg, he had cracked at least two ribs on the lower left side as well. They checked his neck very thoroughly before they tried moving his head to be sure he had no damage there. He was very relieved to hear them pronounce his spine undamaged.

One of them took his helmet off with the same care they'd done everything else to this point. There was a touch of an injection needle at the back of his neck, then he lost most of the feeling in his body. The relief from the pain was welcome but the abrupt loss of any physical control was not.

"All right we've got about seven minutes if this dosage is correct. Lets get that arm in a proper transport splint and then we can get the leg secured too."

"I'm reading pretty clean breaks here. This shouldn't be too bad."

"Then let's not be wasting any time."

Adrian let his eyes slit open just enough to watch them gently prod the bones of his forearm back into places that looked a lot more normal. A heavy white inflatable wrap went over the arm as soon as they were satisfied with what they'd done. A second one went on his upper arm when they had that lined up as they liked as well. He closed his eyes again as they splinted the leg.

By the time they were done, feeling was returning to his body. It wasn't full feeling by any means but he was very aware of his broken and cracked bones. He was glad they were done moving them around before whatever it was they'd given him had worn off. His splinted arm was secured to his body before they gently worked him out of his cockpit.

As they floated him toward the gurney, he risked a slit-eyed look around again. He was just in time to see one gurney leaving quickly, a full emergency team deployed around it. That was probably Yuri. It was a small miracle he was still alive. Captain Thoms was lying on another, face a bloody mask and one leg also sporting one of the inflatable splints. They were getting set to move him out as well.

He was rotated and lowered toward the gurney. Before he touched it, the security man he'd noted earlier reached over and undid his belt, taking it and his sidearm. He also claimed both combat knives from his boot sheaths. Although he'd already decided against using any of them, he regretted their loss. Then he was down on the gurney being secured to it for transport. As he rolled out of the hanger, the last thing he saw was the Chief up on a gantry connecting his code breaker to Kayla's GINN, the blond Lt. Commander beside him.

* * *

The GINN was a mess. Correction, it was a totaled mess. Kayla was sprawled in the seat on her left side, tangled up in the safety harness that was still attached at only one point now. Her right arm was useless, her left was numb, and her head felt kinda like someone had been using it for a drum. 

All her screens were dark. The cockpit had one, count it, one very dim emergency light working. And she was somewhere. She knew that because someone was bumping around outside. The thousand dollar question was; where?

The light that came in as the hatch cracked open was blinding. So she shut her eyes and played 'dead'. The sounds she heard told her she was in some ship's hanger deck. The directional quality of much of the sound told her she was well off that deck too. So the GINN was upright and on it's feet.

"What do we have this time sir?"

"A total wreck. This machine is probably beyond even your skill, Murdock. Looks like most of the boards are burned out. I'm amazed there wasn't a real fire in here."

"How about the pilot? He still alive?"

"Well, this one's a girl and yeah, she's breathing. There's something wrong with the right shoulder. I'm not sure what but it doesn't look right. I think the arm may be broken too. She's all snarled up in what's left of the safety harness. It's gonna be hard to tell much until we get her out of that."

"Mu! You sent for us?" That was a much younger voice and the owner was down on deck by the sound of it.

"Yeah kid. Could the three of you go on up to the infirmary? We've already sent three of the ZAFT pilots up there and they'll need to know they aren't gonna be shot as soon as they wake up. Well, as soon as two of 'em do that is. I dunno if that one kid's gonna make it. He's in real bad shape. Doc called Waltfeld to see if he could send someone over from the _Eternal_ who knows how to treat a Coordinator hurt that bad."

"Do you know who they are, Lt. Commander La Flaga?" Another young voice asked.

"Sorry Zala, the medics didn't stop to grab id tags."

Kayla opened her eyes again. Mu La Flaga? Here? But that was exactly who was sitting on her hatch.

"Hey, Hawk, you want to get this damned helmet off? I wanna talk to you!" She croaked, dismayed at the sound of her own voice.

"Wha?" She'd startled him all right.

"La Flaga, will you get this helmet off?"

Hands suddenly moved the helmet, unlocking it from the suit collar. Then it was lifted carefully away. And Kayla found herself looking up into two of the bluest eyes in the whole of the Earth Alliance. Yep, it was really him and boy, did he look surprised!

"Grayhawk? Kayla Grayhawk? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Very long story. Ultra short version; I was captured at JOSH-A and, uhm, 'borrowed', this GINN to make my departure from ZAFT's company. My timing turned out to be open to question."

"Where did you learn how to fly a GINN?"

"Part of the very long story." She found her self beginning to run a bit short of air. "Look, I'm not doing so well right now, the story can wait. You wanted some names. The Elite pilot is Adrian Ito. The Captain is Lance Thoms. The badly hurt guy is Ito's friend, Yuri. I think his last name is Lubbok or Lubbek or something like that. I feel like shit. I think I'll just pass out for a bit, ok?"

"Mu? Is something wrong?"

"No Kira, not wrong, just real strange!" La Flaga called back to the enquiry from the deck. "The pilot of the GINN is one of our people! Technically I guess you'd have to call Tomahawk an escaping prisoner of war. But I don't know where she got the GINN or where she learned to fly it!"

"DAMN IT LA FLAGA! MY NAME IS GRAYHAWK!"

"She's a bit unfond of the nickname by the way."

"All right, I won't use it!"

"You see? I always knew you were a smart kid Yamato."

One of these days she was gonna kill that man. His sense of humor was a menace to society! But it wasn't going to be today. Today, everything was getting very dark and very quiet. Maybe, maybe yelling at him had been a mistake . . . . .

* * *

There was something about medical facilities that was simply unmistakable. Adrian wasn't sure just what it was though. They were usually very quiet and they usually had a faintly medicinal smell to them. Right now the one he was sure he was in was neither particularly quiet nor medicinal but he knew it was an infirmary just the same. 

"Doctor, what do you want us to do for him?" The speaker sounded disconcertingly unsure of himself.

"At this point, just administer the medications on schedule, watch for the possible complications on that list, and wait. We tend to either die or recover very quickly from this kind of injury. He has an excellent chance; your people did everything right and they did it fast. It's too bad about the eye but that would have had to have been treated almost as soon as it happened to have saved it. I'll send a pair of experienced ward nurses over so you don't have to try to handle three injured men without trained help."

"I appreciate that! Coordinator medicine is simply not something I've had much experience with at all. We've been very lucky. The very few times young Yamato has had problems, he's pulled through them with minimal help."

"Doctor, I would have been shocked if you had. Lets be honest, the Alliance isn't in the business of treating Coordinators. There is no reason you would have been offered the training in your service. I would have a similar problem if I had several Naturals on my ward. We don't learn much about what your medical needs are either."

What was he listening to? Was this _really_ what it sounded like? Adrian Ito tried to very carefully open his eyes just enough to get a glimpse of what was going on around him. The lights were fairly bright but indirect so while his eyes wanted to water a bit he wasn't blinded by them.

Yes, he was in someone's infirmary. The colors and the setup were not like anything he'd seen before on any ZAFT ship though. That however went with the middle-aged man in the medical lab coat with Earth Alliance insignia on the shoulder and a good half dozen people in Alliance uniforms who were working here. It was the unmistakable Coordinator doctor with his pure copper hair and ZAFT insignia who looked completely out of place. Yet the two medical professionals were just standing there conversing amiably, with no sign of any threat anywhere.

Without turning his head, Adrian could see Lance Thoms' bronze-blond hair in the next bed. Thoms eyes were closed and his long, slow breathing indicated sleep while his peaceful face spoke for a lack of pain that in turn indicated he'd gotten good medical treatment. His own lack of pain told him he'd also been given effective treatment. And the discussion between the two doctors was probably about Yuri, so he'd been helped as well. Whatever was going on here, he was grateful for it.

"Did you send for me Doc?"

The Natural medic turned to someone just out of Adrian's line of sight. "Ah, yes. You heard about the Astray pilot who brought in the damaged GINN with three other ruined ZAFT mobile suits in it's arms?"

"Word's all over the ships. They say all four pilots survived too."

"Yes they have. That's what I need you for if you can spare a couple of hours. Two of them should be waking up before long. I'd rather they had one of their own on hand to reassure them."

"Sure. I've done all I can on the _Kusanagi_ right now so they sent me back here to stay close to my Buster just in case anyone moves out there. What about the other two pilots?"

"Well, the one boy is badly hurt. He probably won't regain consciousness for a while yet. The fourth pilot turns out to be one of ours. And before you ask, no I don't know where an Earth Forces officer acquired a GINN or learned how to fly it."

There was a rather long moment of silence, then the other asked hesitantly, "That was a joke right? You don't expect me to believe some Natural was actually flying a GINN."

The doctor shrugged. "She was found in the cockpit, in the pilot's seat, hands on the controls. You'll have to ask Lt. Commander La Flaga for the details. He's the one who knows her."

"Ask me for what?" The tall blond from the hanger, now in a blue and white Alliance flight suit and a cheerful smile walked up to the medical personnel but his attention was on whoever was standing just beyond the screen at the foot of his bed.

"Some Natural girl was flying that fried GINN?" The question was both incredulous and defiant at the same time; the questioner didn't want to hear yes for an answer but he already half believed it anyway.

"Oh she's not 'some Natural girl', Dearka! No, that GINN was 'liberated' and flown by the Tomahawk! Kayla passed out before I could get her to tell me much of anything but she apparently was captured at JOSH-A. Where she picked up the skill to fly a GINN between then and now, I don't know yet, but she was definitely the pilot of that machine."

"Someone stopped at that disaster to pick up a prisoner?" This was a new voice.

The Alliance pilot turned slightly. "Apparently they did. That's not a story someone like Kayla Grayhawk would make up. Although why they would do it in _that_ fight is beyond me."

Adrian's eyes widened suddenly as a very tanned blond in a ZAFT Elite's red flight suit suddenly stepped into his line of sight. The other moved past the doctors to stop and eye the patient in the bed beyond Captain Thoms'. By the expression on his face, he rather liked what he saw. All right, now he had a pretty good idea where Kayla was.

"Well, well, I had no idea there was anything like this hiding among the Astray pilots!"

La Flaga's eyebrows rose and his grin got positively evil. "That's because there isn't. Dearka Elsman, meet Lt. Kayla Grayhawk, 421st Air Wing, 3d Moebius Squadron. Second best Zero pilot in the entire Alliance and now, ZAFT GINN pilot too."

The look on Elsman's face was priceless. He actually backed up a step. The other pilot was obviously something of a ladies man and now he'd met something female he was seriously not sure about. This was outright funny. Others thought so too as Adrian heard more than one suppressed laugh.

There were two more pilots here now. One wore ZAFT red and the other Alliance blue and white. Yet if they weren't a team, Adrian would eat his arm brace. He could see it in the knowing glances they exchanged at the hapless Elsman's expense and the easy way they stood together.

If that weren't surprise enough, the ZAFT pilot was Athrun Zala, the Chairman's wayward and supposedly traitorous son. So who was the other in the Alliance suit who stood so confidently beside one of the best in all of ZAFT? Adrian studied the young officer with his unruly brown hair, warm violet eyes, and friendly face. Then the other looked over at him.

"Athrun, one of the GuAIZ pilots is awake."

La Flaga looked over as well. "That's the Elite kid."

Ito had a very odd moment of déjà vu. For a split second he was back on the unknown Alaskan island and the _Archangel_'s people were calling him 'GINN'. The same reaction popped out of his mouth before he even thought about it.

"My name is Adrian Ito, not Elite, all right?"

La Flaga and the Alliance pilot went very still, eyes widening slightly. Then they looked at each other. He couldn't read that look. But when they looked back at him he saw speculation in La Flaga and open welcome in the pilot.

"And your name isn't GINN either, is it?" The younger pilot asked with a smile.

Suddenly Adrian recognized the voice. It wasn't loaded with combat stress anymore, but it was the same one, he knew it. He was looking at Freedom's pilot. Yeah, _that_ guy could stand with Athrun Zala any day.

"So do I get your name this time?"

"I'm Kira, Kira Yamato."


	20. Chapter 20

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well, this is it. From now on, each chapter will have to be written before I can post it. So there will be more time between updates. However, I will take this story out to its end. And no, I don't know how many more chapters that will take. I do have an outline written for what ground has to be covered though so I'm not winging it in the dark!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

It was o-dark who knew what. The lights in the infirmary were set to dim now and everyone was supposed to be asleep. The doctor had come round five hours ago, Mu, Zala, and Yamato had dropped by over three hours ago and the ward nurse had been by maybe fifteen minutes ago. She hadn't been out the door three minutes before Kayla had gotten out of bed.

A short exploratory trip had netted her slippers and a surprisingly warm robe. Now she was sitting in the nurse's chair, swiped from behind the desk, carefully bundled up beside Adrian's bed while he slept peacefully. She'd gone around to the right side of the bed so she could touch him. Her right shoulder was no longer dislocated but moving it still hurt like hell and the arm was still broken and that hurt too. So if she wanted to reach out and hold his hand, she had to use her left and take his uninjured right.

Gods and Spirits, what was she going to do? It had looked so simple back there at the Project. She loved the man. She was expecting his children. They'd just get married and settle down.

Yeah, where? They hadn't figured that one out yet. But she knew he wouldn't move to Earth. It had no place for him. Blue Cosmos aside, and they were going to remain a serious threat to any Coordinator living planet-side for some time yet, he really didn't want to go there. His heart was with the Plants and his intent was to keep them safe.

In this dim light and quiet night between battles Kayla let herself admit what some part of her had already known. If she wanted to stay with Adrian Ito, she was going to be the one doing the moving. She would be immigrating to the Plants. And she was going to have to deal with his staying in ZAFT after the war too. Because losing his family had set a steely determination in him that it would never happen again. And the only way he could be sure of that was to make the military, and the defense of the Plants, a career.

And that was one hell of a choice for a decorated Alliance war hero to be making. Oh, she wasn't one of the big name heroes but she did have some fame and there were a couple of very respectable decorations in boxes back at her parent's ranch. So what would that make her if she elected to marry a ZAFT Elite and move to the Plants and raise Coordinator kids?

She knew what Blue Cosmos would say but she didn't give one rat's ass for their opinion. No group that would betray its own soldiers like they had at JOSH-A had any right to say anything about any decision she might make! But the opinions of her family and her neighbors, the people she'd enlisted to defend in the first place, those opinions did matter. And she honestly didn't have any idea where those judgments would fall. Damn it! Why couldn't this have stayed simple?

"Are you all right? You aren't supposed to be up."

She looked up, startled. How had Yamato come up on her without her hearing him? She wasn't easy to sneak up on!

"I'm fine." She said shortly, not inviting conversation.

He either ignored the hint or missed it altogether because he pulled the visitor's stool over and sat down. His nearly silent movements at least explained how he'd slipped up on her. Then she found herself looking into a face both friendly and concerned.

"I don't think 'fine' is an honest answer. Not with that look on your face, or with you sitting all hunched up like that. Please, I'll help if I can."

Kayla could feel a rather bitter smile twist her lips. "Depends. You got any experience in choosing between two no-win positions set up by this war?"

It was his turn for a remarkably acidic smile. "Yes. I even think I know what your problem may be. I think you may have a situation somewhat like my sister and Athrun's. Only I wonder if you two aren't further along in your commitment to each other."

"That obvious eh?" She sighed. "Yeah, there's commitment all right. But there's no good way to make it work."

"No, there isn't. Someone is going to be mad no matter what you decide. And no matter the choice, the other option will always sit in the back of your mind and leave you with questions for the rest of your life. All you can do is go with the one you discover you _have_ to. It's the only way to live with the other one; ultimately knowing the one you picked was the only one you could live with."

There was a wealth of pain behind those quiet words. Pain and self doubt, questions asked in the dark, she could hear them in his voice. Kira Yamato had made a choice at least as hard for him as the one she was facing. It had just about killed him; and resolving it was the source of his strength now.

"You willing to tell me something about yours?" She asked, needing to know how comparable the situations were.

He studied her for a moment, then nodded. "I was a student at the technical college at Heliopolis when ZAFT came for the Earth Forces prototype mobile suits being built there. The strike destroyed the colony, gained them four of the five suits and left me and my friends on board the _Archangel_. All that stood between my friends lives and Rau Le Creuset's attacks was the Strike and Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero. I was the only one aboard who could pilot the Strike. I'd been forced to modify the suit's OS to one that made the machine effective in the very first battle on the colony. Now no one else could make heads or tails of it. You see, I'm a Coordinator."

Kayla stared at the uniform he wore. He was a what? All right, yeah, he knew all about this kind of choice.

"That, . . . . . . . that must have been ugly beyond belief getting caught in that corner." She whispered.

"It was." He agreed. "And to make it worse, I was fighting Athrun most of the time. He was part of the Le Creuset Team and had the Aegis. We'd been friends since we were little kids. He didn't, wouldn't, understand that I felt an obligation to protect my Natural friends. It, well, it went to the point where we each killed a good friend of the others and then tried to kill each other. That was the worst thing in my life so far, knowing I really did try with all my skill to kill Athrun that time, and that he was using all he had to try to kill me. We managed to wreck the mobile suits and hurt each other pretty badly but at least we didn't kill each other."

"Holy . . . .!"

Kira smiled a bit wanly, "It was bad but it's led to something very good. If it hadn't gone this way, I doubt we'd be working together now. And it's only because we are, all of us from ZAFT, Aube, and the Alliance, that we've been able to save the Plants from those nukes. It's the only way we'll be able to stop Chairman Zala from turning Genesis on the Earth too. The price of peace has been high and will go higher. The war isn't over yet. We haven't won. But I think we will. And it will be worth what its cost me."

"Huh, and I thought I had a problem."

"You do. It's just a different one from mine. But for you and Ito, it's just as serious. And however the two of you decide, the consequences will last a lifetime, same as mine will."

"How the hell do you deal with this?"

"You don't try to do it by yourself." Yamato stood up. "I have my sister, Athrun, my friends and Lacus Clyne. I couldn't face this alone. Don't you try it either. Some loads are just more than one can carry by themselves."

"Thanks."

He smiled, the bright warmth back again. "You're welcome."

Kayla watched him go. Don't stand alone. That made a lot of sense. And, really, if this pairing they had was going to work, she wouldn't be. There would always be Adrian to stand beside. But Kira implied the network of support would need to be bigger than that. So who else would stand with them?

"You know, Grayhawk, for someone his age, Yamato is remarkably smart."

She looked over sharply to see Lance Thoms watching her. "Where do you stand on this, Captain?"

The older ZAFT officer grinned. "I think the two of you make a very handsome couple. And I suspect the kids will be something very special."

Owl had called him 'Longsight' and told her to rescue him. Now she was very glad she'd listened to the Spirit. Because here was one of those support friends Kira was talking about.

Make the only choice you can live with. Then you can live with knowing you honestly couldn't have walked the other path. Yeah, Kira Yamato was one real smart guy. One real smart and painfully experienced guy. She found herself praying that the price she and Adrian would have to pay wouldn't be as high as his had been.

* * *

He wasn't supposed to be out of bed and he knew it. But fact was, he could get up with minimal pain and the infirmary was boring. Kayla was still asleep so he couldn't talk to her, his Captain was likewise snoozing, and poor Yuri, well, only a monster would wake Yuri early. Since someone had pulled the last drip out of his arm just before the lights had come up to 'morning' level, he hadn't had any real restraints holding him into the bed other than the supports for his broken bones. They were sturdy enough to move easily in the nearly zero gravity of the ship.

So here he was, in a crew lounge he'd found a few doors down the main corridor. The colors were different but the ambiance was the same as any similar crew lounge he'd ever been in before. At least the Alliance provided their people with good viewscreens. He was watching the various mobile suits moving around the three ships.

"You'll give the doctor a heart attack if he finds you in here instead of your bed you know."

Adrian turned to look and saw Lt. Commander La Flaga standing in the doorway. Well, slouched against the wall by the doorway was more accurate. He just shook his head.

"How do you do that?"

"'Scuse me? Do what?"

"Slump against a wall like that and manage to look neatly dressed at the same time. I tried that trick and I'd be a rumpled mess."

"Ah! Many years of practice." The older pilot replied cheerfully. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"I'm bored with staying in bed." Adrian admitted. "And I thought I'd try to see if I could figure out what was going on."

"You'll never see what matters on that viewscreen." La Flaga told him honestly. "You'd have to see the screens on the bridge to really put the situation together."

"Uhm, not a high probability of doing that. Quite aside from the natural reluctance I'd expect to letting a ZAFT officer you don't really know onto your bridge, I suspect the medic would catch me if I tried to slip up there in these pajamas."

The other just nodded in agreement. Then he kicked off and drifted over to catch a chair close by. You couldn't really sit in one in zero g but you could float close enough to give the illusion of sitting and that was what La Flaga did. So the EA officer wanted to chat did he? Or was this a subtle means of interrogation? Adrian told his brain to watch his mouth and settled back to see just who could get the most information out of who.

"Lets try a straight up trade." La Flaga said. "You tell me what the last thing you remember is and I'll at least partly fill you in on what you've missed lately."

He could feel his eyebrows rising. "What kind of trade is that?"

"Look, by the shape your suits were in, especially Kayla's GINN, you guys were awfully close to that blast from Genesis. I want some data on it. You may have it. That's the trade."

He sighed. "There isn't much I can tell you. We got the warning to get out all right but the three of us were helpless to do anything about it. It was Kayla who insisted we grab each other and then caught us up and carried us out of the line of fire. None of us had the mobility left to escape on our own. Yuri was badly injured and powered down already. You know the shape of both GuAIZ suits. We didn't have squat for power either."

"What do you remember of the hit that fried her GINN?"

"Light, the most intense light I've ever experienced. I swear, I thought it was shining through the metal of the mobile suit itself. And I was almost on top of Junius Seven when the nuke hit. The light from Genesis was stronger than that was. But it wasn't shining directly into my eyes like the nuclear blast did, so I wasn't actually blinded for days this time."

He considered what had happened and tried to sort it into some kind of chronology. "I've no idea how long that light really lasted. It felt like forever. But at the end, there was a redder light and a few of my screens sparked and died. I'm pretty sure that was the strike that burned the GINN so badly. It wasn't all that much to me, the other suit took so much of it, I wasn't really hurt. I remember trying to raise someone, anyone on my comm and getting only silence back. The next thing I knew after that, I was in your hanger deck."

The Alliance pilot tossed his head back and considered the information thoughtfully for several minutes. Adrian went back to watching what little there was to see on the viewscreen. Eventually, La Flaga dragged his attention back to himself with one huge sigh.

"Damn. I was hoping for more. Your machines were all so damaged there was almost nothing to get from them either."

"Sorry. This time, I'd tell you if I could but I honestly don't remember any more than that."

"No, Doc McIntyre told me I probably wouldn't get a lot. He didn't think any of you was in any condition to note much and were probably so close to getting killed by it that what sensory data you could take in would be pretty much memories of being overloaded and that's just what you've given me. Sometimes, I wish you Coordinators weren't so smart."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Oh, Doc McIntyre, he's the head doc from the _Eternal_ and one of yours. You saw him yesterday. Tall, copper hair, pretty good sense of humor."

Ah, yes, he remembered the man. "So does that mean I don't get any data in return?"

"No, there aren't any big secrets at the moment so I'll tell you about it."

Adrian listened carefully; a few things becoming plain almost at once. The first battle was probably going to be considered a ZAFT victory. But ZAFT hadn't really won it. Kira and Athrun had won what mattered in that fight by saving the Plants. And they intended to do it again if they had to.

The sheer power of Freedom and Justice was outright scary. He didn't mind admitting to himself at least that he was damn glad he wasn't going to have to face them in combat. The flat truth was trying to face either in a GuAIZ with those two flying them was the next best thing to suicide. The three Alliance suits had been overpowering. These two were so far beyond that it was ridiculous.

There was going to be a second battle and it would happen soon now. The Earth Alliance ships had retreated no further than they absolutely had to before they began to consolidate and regroup. Worse, there were going to be reinforcements coming from Ptolemaist Crater before long. They would bring a new round of nukes, he knew it and from theway he talked around it, so did La Flaga.

It was strangely heartening to realize the Natural pilot was completely revolted by the thought too. Kayla wasn't unique; there were more Naturals who believed using nukes on his people like this was wrong. If there were enough like them, perhaps a real peace could be built after this war.

First though, everyone had to survive this one. The nukes were bad enough. But with Freedom and Justice flying, they could be countered. Genesis was a whole other problem. Chairman Zala was no longer sane. He _would_ use that thing on the planet below them. And when he did, he would condemn the Coordinators to extinction with the people he murdered in his blindness. Because Grandfather was right, there wasn't enough of the right kind of genetic diversity in their current population to allow them to survive. He shivered.

"You cold?"

"Petrified actually." Adrian replied quietly. "Grandfather once said Patrick Zala died with his wife on Junius Seven; that the man animating the body now was only a ghost. If so, he's a very, very vengeful ghost. I've never met him but I have been present when he's addressed my unit a few times. And I did notice a distinct difference between the aura of the man before and after Bloody Valentine. He was human before that, rather less after."

The blond just nodded. "Yeah, I got that impression. He can't have been what he is now forever, not and have had his son turn out like Athrun has. There has to have been a caring human being there once or the kid wouldn't be so torn up about him."

Ito looked over at the Alliance officer and smiled wryly. "Just how old are you that you keep calling Kira and Athrun kids?"

"Eh? I'm twenty eight. That's more than old enough to be calling sixteen year olds kids. And you?"

"I suppose I qualify as a kid then too. I'm seventeen."

"Huh, I'd have said nineteen or twenty. So you and Kayla are the same age. That could be a good thing."

"I've been told I look older than I am most of my life. Grandfather insists that sometime soon my apparent age and my real age will match and from then on I'll start looking younger than I am. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to that."

"Don't knock it. Maturity is supposed to bring respect but I've found you can get that with competence. And wrinkles just don't appeal to the eye somehow."

Adrian snickered. He couldn't help it. The lofty distain in La Flaga's voice was just so funny. It earned him a disgusted look. And that was funny too.

It was at that point that he realized that, if he let him, the Hawk of Endymion could become a real friend. The thought startled him out of his laughter. They weren't really so different after all, these Naturals. They might not have some of the abilities he had but they were just as human as he was. He _was_ planning to marry one after all.

Another thought crossed his mind. You couldn't really call any offshoot a new species until it could no longer breed back with the parent stock. That was another rule of biology. Just like the one that said a species was something that could reproduce itself without aid. Coordinators failed the test on both counts. He found himself staring at La Flaga. That made them, in some kind of grand scheme of things, cousins of a sort.

"Why the hell are we trying to kill each other?"

Mu La Flaga's eye brows rose nearly to his hairline on that one. "Because we're human, Ito. And for some humans, what is different, not of their tribe, is dangerous and must be destroyed so their tribe can flourish. You get someone who thinks like that with serious leadership skills and you have wars."

"You know, that stinks as a reason."

"Yeah, but it doesn't make it any less valid. All you have to do is listen to the propaganda from either side to hear it."

"Being valid doesn't make it smell better!"

"What brought this on?"

Amber gold eyes met vivid blue with utter honesty. "I just realized I like you. The thought of meeting you on the battlefield suddenly makes me sick."

There was a very deep regret in the blue eyes. "This is why you should never get to know an enemy as a person during a war. You have no idea kid, just how glad I am that you won't be able to be part of this next fight. And this one should settle the war too. So I shouldn't ever have to chance meeting you out there. Kayla would never forgive me if I killed you. Unfortunately, you aren't the kind to back down or surrender just because I was the guy in the other mobile suit. Chances are if we met, one wouldn't go home."

A memory of nuclear hell-light danced across his eyes again. La Flaga was right. He could not back down or surrender. Not when he was standing between the Plants and the chance of that happening again. He knew how good he was and he knew the other man's reputation. La Flaga was right about that too. One would not go home. Odd that, he'd never expected to be grateful for a broken arm. Was that cowardice?

* * *

Lance woke to a lot of hissing whispers. The _Archangel_'s doctor, the nurse from the _Eternal_, and a couple of medical aides were all clumped at the foot of Adrian's bed. His empty bed, Thoms suddenly noted, realizing what the fuss was all about.

The nurse was shaking her head. "No doctor. He is already healthy enough that no Natural could have slipped up on him and pulled him out of here without a struggle. That would have alerted us."

"Are you absolutely sure? I hate to think it could have happened but the truth is, not everyone aboard is as generous as Captain Ramius."

"I'm sure. Besides, why would they? He hasn't done anything to the _Archangel_. Why not try for either of the others if they were after a Coordinator to kill?"

"Beg your pardon Miss, but you're missing the obvious here." One of the aides said quietly. "The other two aren't involved with a great looking Natural girl."

Ah, yes, jealousy. One of the great reasons for murder and even some historic wars. In this case, there was the added race factor too. Lance eyed his Second's empty bed unhappily. The chances of any Natural taking Ito by himself were slim to none but if there had been two or more, the odds tipped the other way.

"No!" La Flaga's voice carried clearly. "You'll have half the ship out looking for you thinking you're dead or something! You're going back to sick bay now, hear me?"

The answer wasn't audible enough to distinguish the words but the tone came clearly enough. Someone was being mulish. Someone was not fond of being stuck in sick bay. And it took no guess work to figure out who.

"Yes I can too make you!"

Oh brother! Adrian was really being childish now! And La Flaga didn't sound all that mature at the moment either. Couple of kids arguing over something from the toy box was what they sounded like. Lance Thoms found a truly silly grin on his face as he mentally pictured that argument.

Seconds later, Ito came sailing in the ward door, gently rotating end over end, his good arm flailing uselessly. La Flaga had tossed him perfectly; he was unable to reach any surface that he could use to brake his momentum against. Both aides immediately kicked over to him. He was captured by the medical personnel before he could touch any surface that might have let him shoot himself back out of the Infirmary.

With the Hawk in the ward door and both aides holding him gently but firmly, Adrian was smart enough not to fight the inevitable. The look he gave La Flaga was evil but the man just grinned at him. Interesting. So they'd had a talk had they? And the upshot of it was the beginning of friendship? Because that was what he was seeing.

Lance gnawed his lip. This could be very good or very bad. Only the course of the war would decide that one.

Thoms ignored the doctor and the nurse, both of whom were reading the defenseless Ito the riot act. He hoped they both understood they were wasting their time. He wasn't going to be tied down in bed much longer, not unless they put actual restraints on him. They'd done too good a job of stabilizing his broken bones. He didn't hurt enough to be tied to a bed.

The Captain flipped his good hand and caught the Hawk's eye. He gave another wave and La Flaga nodded, making his way around the roadblock at Adrian's bed to take the free stool beside Thom's. The blond looked over at the uproar and grinned again.

"Is that kid always that stubborn?"

"It depends on the topic. He can be very reasonable most of the time. However, when you hit one of his personal triggers, it takes three men and a boy and a mobile suit to move him."

"He doesn't do 'injured warrior' real well, does he?"

"He's terrible at that one."

La Flaga abruptly turned serious eyes on him. "Kayla Grayhawk is a friend. I trained her to fly a Zero. I'd hate to see her get hurt. I know the kid thinks he's serious but he's inside that infatuation. No one sees clearly from the inside of one of those. So I'll ask you; is he?"

Lance took a deep breath. "Let me tell you what the expert told me. Adrian is the grandson of one of the top geneticist in the Plants. I got this from old Roland himself. Listen very carefully; I'm not going to talk very loudly. There's a lot of this Adrian doesn't need to know and his hearing is excellent."

He started at the beginning, with the concept behind the Ito Plan. Parts of that generated flashes of genuine anger in the Hawk's clear eyes. No shock there. Parts of it were worth getting upset over if you were a Natural.

The story of the boy's decision to capture instead of kill got La Flaga's undivided attention. So did his own observations on how the two of them had struck him as a pair right from the opening of Ito's GINN aboard the _Ballard_. The man was just as interested in every other detail he could dredge up on the development of the relationship. But it was the story of the pheromones and the bond they created that shook him.

"You're saying they didn't have _any_ choice?"

"Not if I understood Dr. Ito correctly. Once those little chemical things took hold, they altered the brain chemistry for both of them to the point where they are now incapable of seeing any other partner. This is apparently something that can happen in a much less intense form to Naturals too. He did say it isn't this intense for most Coordinators either. Adrian and Kayla are unusually susceptible."

"That's kinda scary stuff."

"Oh, yeah. Especially since as far as our human noses are concerned, the damn stuff is odorless. They sneak up on us and we can't smell them coming."

"And the result is the two of them have been trying real hard for kids for a couple of months?"

"That's right."

"Have they succeeded?"

"Not that I know about. But then, I wouldn't necessarily be told right away." Lance pointed out drily. "After all, that would end his obligation to the Project and I seriously doubt he has any interest in leaving her bed, or she in leaving his."

"Ah, yeah." La Flaga agreed just as drily.

"This isn't the reason I wanted to talk to you by the way."

"Oh, likely not." The Hawk agreed amiably. "What did you want?"

"There will be another battle and likely soon. From what I saw, there was a very formidable Earth Alliance fleet there and I doubt the Genesis got them all. Then too, they can be reinforced from the Moon. I would like to know what you people intend to do with us during that battle."

Mu La Flaga gave him a very long and silent study with a neutral face that gave nothing away. "You will sleep through it."

"I beg your pardon? We'll what?"

"You'll sleep through it. As soon as the Alliance fleet starts its move, the four of you will be given sleeping drugs and put into medical emergency escape pods. If the worst happens, you will have some chance of survival. There's nothing you can do awake other than lay here while the battle goes on all around you. I've been helpless in sick bay during a battle once. I'm the one who advised putting all of you out. Believe me, it's kinder than letting you stay awake no matter what you think."

"Unacceptable! Come up with another plan." Lance Thoms was suddenly so mad he could barely see straight. What kind of coward did the Hawk of Endymion think he was?

"Sorry, not gonna do that." La Flaga replied flatly.

"Why you . . . . ."

"Captain! If you will give me a moment please? You can fight with the Lt. Commander after I've finished."

Lance looked over to see the Coordinator doctor from the _Eternal_. Eyes flashing at La Flaga, he laid back obediently. He would take this up again just as soon as the doctor was done.

"Don't go anywhere La Flaga! We aren't done talking."

"Nope. I'll stay right here."

The man was competent and quick. He checked all the injuries and both breaks, remarking that they were healing well. He finished with an injection into a vein in the back of his hand.

"Captain, you will be fine now."

"Thank you Doctor."

"How long will it hold?" La Flaga asked.

"At least ten hours. The fight should be over by then. You should get to your mobile suit, Hawk. I'll stay long enough to make sure they are all safely stowed in their capsules and then I'll shoot back to Eternal. We should be moving very soon now. The reinforcements from Ptolemaist Base are getting very close."

"What!" Lance suddenly realized what was happening. "What have you done to me?"

The doctor looked down at him sadly. "Hopefully, prevented stress overload from killing any of you, especially Yuri Lubbek. Now go to sleep Captain. There is nothing you can do in this battle."

He stared up horrified at the betrayal. He looked at La Flaga who simply smiled a bit grimly. His vision was beginning to tunnel on him, the edges vanishing in a whirl of brilliant sparkles. The last thing Lance Thoms saw was the Hawk of Endymion throwing him a casual salute before he turned away. It was a memory he would treasure the rest of his life.


	21. Chapter 21

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Weekends are good. I get a lot of writing done on weekends and can keep posting.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Kayla tried to get her gummed eyes to open. They remained glued shut. She thought about rubbing them with her hand and tried to. Unfortunately, she tried to use her right hand. Pain shot through her shoulder and arm, waking her up very fast.

She shifted hands and cleared her stubborn eyes with the left hand. Her mouth tasted like the bottom of a barn no one had mucked out all winter. She was unbelievably stiff. What the hell was going on?

As her eyes cleared, she discovered she wasn't in the Archangel's infirmary any longer. She was in the left hand bed in the back of the smallish room. It held a total of four beds and they all were occupied. This place also looked like someone's sick bay but it wasn't the one she'd gone to sleep in. Yeah, and just why had she dropped off like that so soon after waking up feeling so good?

The door opened and she saw the Coordinator medic, Dr. McIntyre standing there. "No, they will wake up very soon now Colonel Kisaka. I put them under, I'll supervise their recovery."

"And will you tell them the rest?"

"Do you want me to? I can if you think it best. The others are probably not in the best state to do it right now."

"I would appreciate it Doctor."

"Then I will relieve the other young people of that burden."

"Thank you."

Kayla forced her body to sit up. She understood only a little of that conversation but what she got wasn't good. They'd been put under for some reason and someone or several someones had died while she slept. She was staring hard right at McIntyre when he turned around. He saw her at once and walked swiftly to her side, taking a seat on the inevitable infirmary stool that stood by the bedside.

"What happened and who did we lose?"

"The war is effectively over. The Plants and the Earth governments have begun negotiations to draw up a peace treaty."

"So I missed the last fight. Who did we lose Doc?"

"The Hawk of Endymion flies no more."

Something cut off her air. She could feel her lungs trying but there was nothing coming in. Mu? Mu La Flaga? Dead? She shook her head. That was not possible!

Then McIntyre was supporting her, helping her lay back down. She was having trouble seeing him, where had all this water come from? And who was turning out the lights? Air! She needed air! Mu could not be dead!

The second time she woke up was slower and harder. There was something bad, something she didn't want to wake up to. She fought to hold onto the comfort of the darkness. But it did not choose to stay despite all she did to keep it close. Light slipped in, pushing it away, bringing sound with it. Eventually, she knew she was seeing the inside of her own eyelids and someone very nearby was trying very, very hard not to cry.

It was no good. She couldn't stay like this. She had to know. Kayla opened her eyes, and discovered they felt like someone had rubbed them with sandpaper. They only got like this when she'd been crying for a very long time. Oh, she really wanted to go back to sleep!

Instead, she made herself sit up. Adrian was in the bed beside hers. He was the one trying so hard not to cry. He had his pillow on his chest and was biting it for all he was worth. Captain Thoms was in the bed ahead of Adrian's. He was laying very, very still, his good arm thrown over his eyes and his mouth a white slash of pain. Dr. McIntyre was sitting beside whoever was in the bed below hers, probably Yuri Lubbek. And on a stool at the foot of Captain Thom's bed was Dearka Elsman, head wrapped in bandage and eyes vacant with loss.

It was seeing Dearka that tripped the memory. The association of pilot and mobile suit. And one unbelievable report of one who hadn't come back.

"Dearka." Kayla got the name out clearly and saw his head come up. "Tell me this damn medic lied to me."

"About what?"

"Mu."

"No, he didn't lie. He put the damaged Strike between a Lohengrin shot and the _Archangel_'s bridge. He stopped the shot, saved the _Archangel_, but the Strike blew at the very end." His violet eyes suddenly glowed with fury. "It was that bastard Azriel! He was on the _Dominion_! He was the reason for that coward's attack! I know it!"

"Chalk up one more betrayal to Blue Cosmos." Kayla snarled savagely. "Don't tell me the son-of-a-bitch got away?"

"No, oh no. Captain Ramius fired _Archangel_'s Lohengrin back. _They_ didn't have a La Flaga to defend them. The shot took _Dominion_ right in the bridge and destroyed the whole ship! No, the bastard won't betray anyone else ever again."

It was an empty consolation. One rabid dog was dead. But Blue Cosmos was full of them. They would replace that dead dog with another all too soon. Yet nothing would replace a good man like Mu La Flaga. There were worthless dogs everywhere. Why were good men so hard to find?

She needed something else to talk about or she was just going to fall apart. "Dearka, where the hell are we?"

"Huh? Oh, this is the _Kusanagi_. She belongs to Aube. Right now they're doing final repairs on the Strike Rouge and setting up a pair of Astrays. Then Cagalli, Kira, and Athrun are going out to search for survivors. That's why we're all here. They'll take any Alliance people they find to Archangel and any ZAFT to Eternal. Explaining me and you and Ito would cause some serious problems so we're sidestepping it for the moment."

"I fail to see the logic here."

"You don't have a political mind." Captain Thoms suddenly spoke up. "I would wager Dearka has been on board the Archangel voluntarily for a bit here. That is not what a ZAFT Elite should be doing. If anyone can prove that, he could be up on treason charges. And you should be concerned if there is anyone who could tie you to any act that could be construed as treason back there before you picked us up. Which may be regarded as such by some parties in and of itself."

Thoms shot the younger ZAFT pilot a weary look. "Decided to protect someone, didn't you?"

Dearka just stared at the floor in silence. But there was an oddly reddish tinge to his face that told Kayla the Captain was right on the money. So she and Adrian weren't the only Natural/Coordinator pair.

The Captain shook his head slowly. "Dearka, I've seen this tried many times and there aren't many success stories. You and your girl would be well advised to think everything through very carefully before you do anything you can't back out of. That said, I wish you both the best of luck. Because the pairs that do succeed tend to be very, very happy couples."

He turned to the silent medic. "So Doctor, what is the plan? I assume you know."

McIntyre smiled. "The ZAFT people will be brought over here to the _Kusanagi_ for return to the Plants. We will use the neutral ship for obvious reasons. The rescued survivors will simply find you already here and under medical care. It should deal with any immediate questions. How you handle things when you get home will have to be your problem. We will use _Kusanagi_ to return all Alliance survivors as well. They will likewise come aboard to find Lieutenant Grayhawk here and under medical care. Or that is the plan unless anyone chooses to go with someone else."

Now that was a round about way to ask if someone wanted to get labeled a deserter. She rather doubted it. Adrian wouldn't and she didn't think Dearka would either. She certainly wasn't going to go that route when she could legally muster out in only six weeks now.

She thought of something else. "Dearka, how is Kira coping? You said he's going out to search for survivors. Is he ready to do that?"

"He says he is." The Elite replied quietly. "I don't know. It hit him awful hard. He and La Flaga were something more than just friends. You know how it is when you have someone you depend on in combat. They were a team. Now Yamato's alone. That's one cold place to be in a battle. But the one I really worry about is Captain Ramius. I think she and La Flaga had an understanding. Mir told me she'd already lost one fiancée to the war. Now he's gone too."

"You make me glad to be off the _Archangel_ right now. The depression must be heavy enough to slice and serve on toast." Kayla said morosely.

"That's a pretty decent description, yeah."

Something else suddenly occurred to her. "Hey, why are they taking out a couple Astrays? Why not take Freedom and Justice?"

Dearka Elsman looked up, slightly startled. "Oh, yeah, you don't know about any of that do you? They're gone. Athrun self-destructed Justice inside the core of Genesis just as it was getting set to fire to destroy it. Kira went one on one with Rau Le Creuset in the Providence and won. But the Freedom was caught up in the final explosive end of the Genesis and totaled. Cagalli and Athrun found Kira floating free in space, the wreck of the mobile suite some distance away. No one has the slightest idea how he survived. He sure doesn't remember a thing about it. The Providence, and Commander Le Creuset were vaporized in the blast."

"He's one of Thunderbird's Children. The Thunderbird saw to it he made it." Kayla replied absently. "Since he did, you can be sure Kira has more to his destiny than what he's done already. Same with Athrun Zala. He's the other Child of the Thunderbird. The Spirit power those two carry gives me the willies. I wouldn't want their burden for all the gold in Fort Knox!"

The completely confused young pilot looked at Captain Thoms for a clue. "Did she say anything that made any sense to you?"

"She's a Native American. I believe what she's talking about is something relating to their religion."

"So are you saying God saved Kira?"

"No I'm saying Thunderbird did. Your God and the Thunderbird are not much alike. Your God and the entire concept of the natural Spirits don't have all that much in common come to think of it. You're comparing apples and horseshoes talking about the two at the same time. You really need to talk to Grandmother Spotted Horse. She's a full Medicine Woman and can really explain it."

"Yeah, someday, maybe." Dearka agreed doubtfully. "Grandmother Spotted Horse? What kind of name is that?"

"She's my mom's mother and it's her family name, rocks-for-brains! Makes just as much sense as calling yourself Elsman does! At least Grandmother's name is immediately descriptive!"

Dearka had the rare good sense not to comment on that. Instead he just stood up and left. Captain Thoms gave her a rather unamused look for driving off his source of information. She didn't care. Well, maybe she did at that. Because now there was nothing to stand between her and the empty hole where Mu used to be.

A tiny choking sound drew her eye back to Adrian. He was rocking rhythmically, good arm locked around the abused pillow, eyes firmly closed although tears were leaking from them steadily. Something was very wrong here. He hadn't known Mu well enough for this kind of reaction.

She looked around and found her slippers neatly set at the foot of her bed. The warm robe she'd appropriated earlier was also carefully folded and set at the foot of the bed as well. She reached down and grabbed it, tugging it on awkwardly. Interestingly, Dr. McIntyre made no move to stop her when she pulled herself to her feet and fumbled the slippers on.

The gravity on the _Kusanagi_ was very low. She had no trouble floating over to Adrian's bed. In fact she had no trouble floating right over it altogether! Fortunately the wall was only a short way beyond and she was able to safely stop herself.

She hooked an ankle on his bed and pulled herself down to sit beside him. She was at something of a loss to know what to do for him so she began to just gently run her fingers through his hair, almost like petting a cat. Gradually, the very worst of the tension began to go out of him and the tears slowed. He stopped chewing on the pillow eventually and just lay there, possibly the most haunted, grief-stricken expression she'd ever seen on his face.

She wasn't prepared for him to move suddenly. His good right arm swept around her and he pulled her down beside him. Then he rolled onto his right side and was weeping softly on her shoulder.

"He was like Duncan." The voice was a bare whisper. "He was just like Duncan!"

"Who was Duncan? You've never mentioned him before." She whispered back softly.

"My brother, my older brother. He would have been just about Mu's age too. God, he was so like Duncan! I didn't understand why I wanted to like him so. Now I do. He had the same kind of giving kindness my brother did. And he had the same willingness to give whatever he had to to defend what he believed in."

Duncan would have died at Junius Seven with all the rest of the Ito family. What an incredible accolade for a Coordinator to give an Alliance soldier! Where ever Mu was, she hoped he'd heard that.

"Kayla, I just lost another brother before I could even get to know him properly!"

She had no answer for that heartbroken little cry. What could she tell him? She did the only thing she could, she held him until exhaustion and grief sent them both down into sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

And now to deal with toxic ethics and other future things. Some things referred to here will not be part of this story. I have no idea if I will write the story they _are_ part of or not. They are noted here only because they are part of what is found when Roland Ito keeps his promise to show Kayla and Adrian what real toxic ethics look like.

Next update will take a few days. I may not have much writing time for a bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

It would be interesting to know if that serenity trick of Lacus Clyne's was innate or something she could teach another. Because Kayla definitely could use it. The week had been something of a cross between nightmare and victory dance. The war, the shooting part of it anyhow, was over, done, period, fini. The diplomatic part was just getting started. Thank God she had no part in it!

But she did have her own life to live and at the moment it was all snarled up with a very fascinating group of people on board a set of three ships; two of which were considered rogues by their respective societies. Those people were both celebrating the end of the shooting war and deeply mourning lost friends. One never knew what mental state anyone was going to be in at any one moment and they all were subject to change without notice if the wrong trigger was touched.

The least stable of the lot was Cagalli Yuha Athha, Aube's erratic Princess and new Chief Representative. She had the temper of a cougar with a sore tooth and was just about as dangerous when she wanted to be. But she had remarkably clear sight and her approach to politics, while probably not viable in the long term, was refreshingly direct and did cut the red tape. She controlled their link to Earth. All their really serious terrestrial data was coming to them through Aube Intelligence.

The rock of constancy on the other hand was Lacus Clyne. Almost nothing ever seemed to get her ruffled. She could negotiate with the most intransigent idiots and somehow come out of the meetings not only cheerful but with most of the agreements she went in desiring. She controlled their principal link into the Plants. Yzak Joule had not cared for being stuck as their main information source but once Lacus had talked to him for a couple of hours, he'd agreed to it. He wanted Dearka back with his good name intact. To achieve that, Yzak was going to have to control the data flow. He could only do that by helping Lacus. It said everything about the depth of his friendship with the blond pilot of the now ruined Buster that he'd stick his neck out that far for him.

Everyone else fell somewhere in between those two extremes. With a rescue mission to focus on for the first few days, Kira and Athrun had been able to get through the days without coming apart. It proved to be just enough time for them both to make the adjustments in their minds that let them take up living again when it became plain there were no more survivors to find. Now Athrun stayed by Cagalli's side, a mostly silent shadow. Kira was usually to be found somewhere close to Lacus. He too was mostly somber but he was not as dark in outlook as Zala and he would talk to others sometimes.

Together with Cagalli, the three of them had located nearly two dozen Alliance survivors and about three times as many from ZAFT. But they hadn't found the one they'd searched for the hardest. They brought in very small pieces from the Strike, but not so much as a single hair from her pilot or a shred from his flight suit. Mu La Flaga, the Hawk of Endymion, like so many lost in space battles, was gone without a trace.

Kayla and Adrian had a cabin to themselves in officer's country now. Her arm was still healing but he was almost good as new. She was feeling a bit jealous of that rapid healing he enjoyed every time her arm decided to remind her that her bones were still in the 'broken but considering mending' stage.

She'd made a decision a few days before after listening to him talking to Yuri about responsibilities. Adrian would be going back to the Plants unaware that he was going to be a father in a few more months. She could just see the disaster she'd have on her hands if she told him. Either he'd try to hold her or he'd try to come with her. The first would make her a deserter and the second would get him shot.

No, silence was golden this time. His grandfather could tell him. And she could get messages from and to him through Cagalli and Aube, they'd work something out.

Kayla leaned back and stretched. She'd been reading one of the rescued Alliance pilot's description of the final battle of the war into the _Kusanagi_'s main computer. Across the room, Captain Thoms was doing the same thing with the reports from the rescued ZAFT pilots, Kira leaning over his shoulder. She wasn't doing any data entry one handed but she could do these entries and this way the histories were available to Aube and the Clyne Faction too. They were interesting reading for her as well. She'd input about half of them now and she had a much better feel for what kind of absolute mess that last fight had become. She was glad she'd slept through it.

"Kayla! We have a message from Yzak! Grandfather is furious with you for running off like that." Adrian was grinning like a fool. "Mother says he never credited you with the skill to learn much of anything from that simulator and was caught completely by surprise when you took that GINN out of the garden and escaped. She says he stomped around the Project for days afterward in a real tantrum. Oh, and he sent the simulator back to the base."

"Talk about locking a barn after the horse is gone!" She snorted. "That old goat still won't use that head for anything but growing hair will he?"

Adrian's smile faded. "Mother says we were impossibly lucky have survived. Apparently Grandfather was sure Le Creuset was going to target the Archangel and was stunned to learn it hadn't been destroyed. He wants to know how it survived as he knows for a fact the Commander took out a prototype mobile suit armed with independently targetable Dragoons to make sure he could get past the ship's defenses. He's heard some, and Mother has this underlined three times, stupid story about Le Creuset being defeated in single combat by another mobile suit. He thinks that's garbage, the only one who could have done that was killed as an infant at Mendel Colony sixteen years ago and he wants the real story. We're to send it immediately."

Kayla stared at him quizzically. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

"What does your Grandfather know about Mendel Colony?" Kayla turned to see Kira standing beside Adrian all of a sudden, hand locked on his wrist tipping the letter so he could read it.

"I've no idea. I never heard him mention it before. What's so important about an abandoned colony?"

"He used to work on a major project running there." Thoms said quietly, snatching Kira's attention away from the letter.

"What kind of project?"

"How old are you Kira?"

"Sixteen."

"Does the name Hibiki mean anything to you?"

"Yes."

"Then I think you need to talk to a cranky genius of an old goat who thinks you're dead."

"Would someone be good enough to bring us into this loop or do we hafta get that old goat on the comm?" Kayla snapped.

Kira half turned to her. "When the _Archangel_ and the _Kusanagi_ first escaped Aube after the North Atlantic Federation invaded, we took refuge there to reorganize ourselves and get set up for the space battles we knew were coming. We weren't quite done when both the Alliance and ZAFT showed up. Just before we got into that fight though, Mu had one of his feelings that something was wrong and Le Creuset was involved. He headed into the Colony. Dearka and I followed to make sure he didn't run into more of the Le Creuset Team than Strike could handle alone."

He took a very deep breath, then plunged on. "Mu did get into a fight with the Commander all right. And Dearka met up with Yzak Joule. Remembering how things had gone with Athrun and I, he sent me after Mu while he stayed to try to talk things out with his friend. By the time I caught up, both of them were out of their mobile suits and into the Colony's interior. So I followed."

He blinked rapidly, whatever he'd seen, it hadn't been pretty. "The place was some kind of experimental lab. It was grotesque and disgusting and Rau kept taunting us, saying we should know this place, that I'd been born there. He claimed to be a clone of Mu's father! And he said _I_ was the only successful experiment out of who knew how many hundreds! He said I wasn't the son of the Yamato's but of this Dr. Hibiki and his wife. He had some insane idea that I was supposed to be some kind of ultimate Coordinator! And he almost killed us both! I think he would have if I hadn't knocked his mask off."

"So Dr. Hathaway gave Roland Ito a straight story." Lance Thoms said wonderingly.

"So there's someone still alive who knows what happened at that place?" Cagalli demanded from the door.

"My grandfather apparently knows something he's never discussed with me." Adrian told her.

"We have to talk to him." The blond girl announced firmly.

"Oh, you plan to run the _Kusanagi_ up to Aprilius One and politely ask to visit?" Kayla enquired sarcastically. "The war isn't exactly legally over yet you know."

Cagalli stopped with her mouth open. Before she could think of a useful direction to go in, Lacus Clyne spoke up. "We will send a message back to Dr. Ito and ask if he will provide us with more specific information. And we will tell him Kira is indeed alive and well."

"And what do we do in the mean time?" Cagalli demanded.

"We wait patiently." Lacus replied and glided out the door.

"What do you mean, wait patiently! I DON'T HAVE ANY PATIENCE!" The Princess of Aube shouted angrily.

"So noted." Kayla replied with a grin.

Cagalli turned around furiously. Kayla waved her hand at her, making moose horns on her head. Cagalli began to snigger. It degenerated into laughter.

"Do you know, . . . . how silly . . . . that looks with only . . . . one hand!"

"Yeah. My sister used to do it to me when she broke her arm falling off a horse." She kicked a nearby chair. "Sit down and quit yelling. Look, I've met this old fraud. Honest, you don't want him around any more than you absolutely have to have him. He's arrogant, stuck up, scary smart and impossibly sure he knows all the answers. He's also an old billy goat who desperately needs to be kicked in the butt."

"KAYLA!" Adrian roared. "That's my Grandfather you're talking about! Be polite!"

"Why? He's never polite to me."

She turned firmly to Cagalli, ignoring Adrian's irritation. Kira grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him away. She saw him tow Adrian over to Captain Thoms and roust him out of his chair as well. Then the three of them slipped out the door. Good enough. The guys could talk now without interruptions as she intended to keep Cagalli busy right here for a bit.

And she did. The two of them got along surprisingly well as long as they stayed off the subject of Athrun Zala. Kayla didn't see what Cagalli saw in that gloomy fish. Well, besides his looks of course. There was nothing wrong with those! But then, Cagalli told her flat out Adrian bored her to tears so perhaps they were even. At least they each were sure the other had no eye for their guy! She had to apply herself to keeping Cagalli occupied for two days. Then a small, private, long range shuttle docked with the Kusanagi and Roland Ito got off.

* * *

The slow spin of the ruined colony ahead of them was not inviting. Adrian didn't like the looks of any of it. Kayla was giving it a very suspicious study as well he noted. As for Kira Yamato, well Kira was looking at ghosts. And his grandfather had the sourest expression he'd ever seen on his face.

"Do you remember that discussion we had a while ago about toxic ethics?"

"Yes, Grandfather, I do."

"Well, I promised to show you both what the real thing looks like. I assure you, you will not enjoy the experience. I strongly suggest anyone with even the slightest tendency to a weak stomach bring several 'sick sacks'. This place was created just for using 'em."

"We've all dealt with plenty of ugly things, Dr. Ito. I don't think we'll need them." Cagalli told him.

"You've dealt with war, girl. This isn't war. This is greed and unbridled ambition run amok. This is what you get when there are _no_ ethical restraints at all on a project involving living human beings. War is clean next to this place. Bring a half dozen sacks, you'll need 'em. It's always the cocky ones like you who do." The old man snorted at her.

"What were you doing here then?" Cagalli challenged.

"Being a damned fool." Dr. Ito snapped back. "I was stupid enough to think if all I did was theoretical work, my hands would stay clean. Ha! Complete and utter self-delusion! Don't ever tell yourself that lie young woman! Because just as soon as you crack the theoretical end of it, they hand your work off to the applied teams. And they use it to create living nightmares. You might as well have thrown yourself in the cesspit to start with! You would have been more honest if you had."

The _Kusanagi_ settled into the same bay she'd used before. She'd come alone this time. As a recognized neutral, she could travel with relative safety. Neither the _Archangel_ nor the _Eternal_ could move unchallenged yet.

Because he'd promised to take them, Dr. Ito insisted Dr. McIntyre rig secure splints that would allow both Kayla and Adrian to make the trip into the colony. This led to a meeting between the physician and the geneticist that lasted several hours. In the end, Roland Ito got his way, but only because the gravity in the wrecked colony was so low that letting Adrian walk on his half healed leg wouldn't actually stress it seriously. Their arms were simple to protect compared to the leg and they both promised not to do anything stupid like trying to lift heavy weights or pull something massive around.

The shuttles slipped deep into the colony accompanied by one of the Astrays. The pilot was one of the very few of their own wounded the Aube had recovered. He wasn't really up to a serious battle yet but he could stand guard and give warning if there was any threat to the shuttles. The party, by unspoken agreement, followed Dr. Ito into the structure.

The old man looked around with a savage frown. "Place hasn't improved any I see."

"Opinion noted. Now, where do we go from here, old goat? This is one big building. There's gonna be stuff everywhere. Where do we look for something interesting and not too stomach turning?" Kayla hissed, not liking this place already.

"Well, let's see if they overlooked any of my efforts to hide things in plain sight first."

"Beg pardon?" Kayla asked.

"Sometimes the best place to hide something is right out in the open. People look at it every day and don't think anything of it. It can't be something serious, not parked in the main hall for everyone to stare at. You get the idea now?"

"Sure. I just have no idea what kind of thing I should be looking for." She grumbled.

"You let me look. I'm the one who hid them after all."

He wasn't joking about the main hall either. Dr. Ito followed the ramps from level to level, never leaving the central shaft. No one was sure what he was checking for until he had them up several floors. There they finally found some of the decorative statuary mostly undamaged. He went straight to the statue of a bearded researcher holding a very old fashioned diagnostic tablet and wand.

He reached over the top of the tablet to start pushing buttons. Seconds later, the top of the tablet opened. Roland worked the fourth 'chip' free from its setting and turned it over. There were three small data discs on the back.

"Well, they missed these on the physical search. Now lets see if they swept 'em electro-magnetically."

To his immense frustration, someone had. And from the state of them, the pulse used had been a powerful one. All right, there probably wasn't going to be any lucky find out here. But Dr. Ito did look just to be sure. It was just as well that his expectations had been reset to a safely low level as the three other surviving hiding spots produced ruined data media too.

"Where do we look now?" Dearka asked uneasily.

"The only place left. Down in labs and the individual researcher's offices." He looked grimly at Kira. "I hope you can go there again."

"I'll manage." Yamato replied shortly.

This time they were following Kira. He led them swiftly through the old building until he reached one specific set of closed doors. He paused there to brush his fingers over a chip in the wall before he opened the doors and walked through them.

Kayla looked at the chip as she reached it and realized it was a bullet mark. Someone had fired a gun in here. Given the way he'd touched it, they'd probably been shooting at Kira too.

She walked through the doors and straight into hell. The vast space was filled with tanks. Each held a developing fetus. Almost every one had some visible defect. There were readout boards by each tank, running data in a steady stream. What the hell? Was this place still in use?

"They're dead." Roland Ito said harshly.

"What?" Kayla asked.

"Every one you see here, they're dead. They've been dead for the last sixteen years. They died when Blue Cosmos destroyed this place, looking for Kira here."

"But, the readouts! They're still going!" Cagalli cried.

"All they are telling you is that the content of the tank has been terminated." The old man replied bitterly. "You can't read the codes, I can. Hell, I wrote those codes! You look up and down here! Do you see a single gold light anywhere? No, you don't! They're dead I tell you! Now quit worrying about them. They're long past any help you could give and if they ever had souls, those have been free for a long time too."

"Thank you." Kira's voice was very soft.

"Eh?"

"Thank you. I couldn't tell, last time I was here, if they were alive or not. Mu was wounded and Le Creuset had escaped, I couldn't stop to find out. I'm glad to know I didn't leave any living thing in this place."

Roland sighed. "Kira, you are the only living thing that ever did come out of here. The others all died. And I have no idea why you didn't too. That's what I'd like to find out really. Did these idiots do something right with their artificial womb or is it all in your specific genetics? If it's the former, then perhaps we can go to mouse testing and actually perfect it. If its all you, well, cloning is illegal for some damned good reasons."

"The office where Le Creuset tossed that book at us is over here." Kira turned away immediately.

"Main Project offices." Dr. Ito identified it.

The place was a mess. There was trash all over, the furniture that was left was broken and there were large rents in the walls and ceilings where someone had evidently gone looking for something. Kira just stood in the middle of the room, his eyes bleak, lost in memory.

Dr. Ito however had places to search. He ignored the still Yamato to begin checking every data-containing unit left for any signs of remaining functionality. Kayla stuck close to Adrian. This was a bad place to be alone. Together they just looked in doors and did a general scan of the place.

It was larger than it looked. The hallways were surprisingly generous considering this was a space colony where interior room was always at a premium. The offices were on a scale with the halls, suggesting there had been a very great deal of both money and influence behind this monstrosity of a Project. Since the Colony still had power, many of the lights were still on even after all these years.

They met Dearka tagging along with Cagalli and Athrun a couple of times as they too were doing a survey. None of them had found any working computers and a lot of the cabinets that weren't torn apart were locked. It was at one of those hallway intersection meetings that Athrun noticed a name on one office door that rang a bell with them all.

The door said 'Hathaway'. This then was the office of Dr. Ito's talkative friend. They exchanged looks, then Athrun tried the door. It opened freely.

It was dark but when he touched the lights, several of them came on. The illumination wasn't great but it let them see they'd found a much bigger office than most. In fact, it looked to be an office suite as there were a couple of open doorways leading off this first room.

Like every other space in here, it had been ransacked years ago. But it looked as if whoever did this office was running out of either energy or enthusiasm or both as things weren't as broken up as usual.

A check showed them an inner office, probably Hathaway's own, and a small storage room lay beyond the two open doorways. The storage room had been stripped bare. Even the shelving had been torn out at one point and someone had knocked a hole in the wall. So this was where they'd spent the energy they'd normally have used to rip up the office. Kayla wondered what they'd been looking for.

By common consent, they started in Hathaway's office. There were more lights on in here, making it easier to see what one was looking at. Kayla began with a pile of journals tossed carelessly on the floor. It was quickly obvious to her that she lacked the training to really read them. But she did have enough biology background to understand that these were logs of individual experiments. Was Kira's in here?

She began to flip them to the last page to read the final status of the experiment. Only one was going to say anything but 'terminal'. Then she picked up a badly damaged one that had a different cover from all the others. She opened it carefully but found that it didn't matter; it was already pretty much past reading. The pages were torn and stained. Some had holes in them with large sections of the print or diagrams missing.

Yet what she could make out suggested this was a different kind of experiment from the rest. There didn't seem to be any section for the gene splice record for one thing. That was a major portion of every other journal she'd checked. This one was big on comparison, the experiment to some master source. It was almost like they were trying to make an exact duplicate.

An exact duplicate. A clone! Was this Rau Le Creuset's record? Kayla stared at what she was holding. Then she closed it carefully. This was going to Dr. Ito. She couldn't risk damaging it further by playing with it; she didn't know enough to get anything out of it and she could only justify going on if she could.

"Wow Athrun! It works!"

She turned at Dearka's exclamation to see the unmistakable double helix of a DNA chart suddenly twisting above the badly damaged desk.

"Yes, it works." Zala replied quietly. "But it has very little power. I'm shutting it down. We'll let Dr. Ito see what he makes of it."

He looked up. "Adrian, could you find your grandfather and get him up here? I don't want to risk trying to pull this unit out of the desk or I'd take it to him instead."

"Right." Adrian was out the door in a flash. He was back in less than five minutes. Kira and his grandfather were with him.

Old Roland had come prepared in more ways than one. He pulled an old fashioned power pack out of his shoulder bag and hooked it up to the damaged data unit. He also laid out all the cross patch lines to a small but powerful recorder he'd brought with him.

"All right Zala, fire it up again." He instructed.

Athrun brought the aged data unit back online as the old man watched over his shoulder. It was soon clear that while Athrun could get into a few of the programs, most of the data was well secured. Dr. Ito copied what they could get to before he let anyone try any code breaking that might have jeopardized the access they did have.

Once that was done though, he let anyone try any halfway decent sounding idea they had. Unfortunately, none of them worked. Even Dearka, who admitted computer lock codes were not a specialty, gave it a try. Kira, who was good at it, gained access to a couple more sections that were promptly copied but even he couldn't get them any further.

"All right, that's just about all I can do without spending some time researching the system itself." Kira finally said. "What we need is some idea what the man would have used for an emergency entry code. If we could tumble over that, we would be in."

"Ah, you mean a backdoor code?" Dr. Ito asked.

"Yes, that's another name for it."

"Well, Joel once told me he was going to program his machine to let me in if I'd input "rolandisastupidjerk". I think that was a joke but you never know. Funny, I hadn't thought of that bit of idiocy in years."

"It's worth a try." Yamato agreed and typed it in.

The computer shut off.

"That was helpful." Cagalli said acidly.

"Shut up girl!" Dr. Ito was on his feet suddenly. "We are looking for a projector and a sound system. That just triggered Joel's message system!"

"Outer office!" Dearka snapped, his head cocked in that direction.

They all dashed out there. It was Kira who saw the trash hanging from the ceiling that was blocking the projector and Dearka who found and began clearing a speaker. Kira boosted Athrun up to get a stubborn piece of metal out of the way. Once up, Athrun found a good place to work from in the ceiling while Kira tackled the rest of the mess from below.

By the time they had the projector clear, Dearka had found the speaker and was fixing the broken wiring. To everyone's intense disappointment, the projector shut down just as he got the speaker working. All they heard was a final electronic squeal.

"No! We missed it!" Cagalli shouted.

"Cultivate patience girl. Joel will have set this up to play several times." Roland barked as he found the wreck of a chair that was still sound enough to sit on.

"My name's Cagalli! Quit calling me girl!"

"Your name is loud noise at the moment. Now kindly shut up! That speaker isn't very good and I'll want to hear everything I can!"

Athrun put his hand on her shoulder and Cagalli subsided into angry mutters. Kayla put her ear over by the speaker and suddenly heard it begin to click. Well, the annoying old goat might be right again. It did look like the loop was going to repeat.

There was a bright flash and suddenly there was an image being shown on the far wall as the speaker likewise crackled to life. It looked like it had been recorded right here in this office. The man in the picture was a lean African with snow white hair. He looked half frightened to death.

"If you are seeing this, you are a friend of Roland Ito's. Please tell him what I'm about to tell you. I am Dr. Joel Hathaway, Deputy Director of Research for the Hibiki Reproductive Research Program. This recording is being made as the Program's facilities are being destroyed by Blue Cosmos. My colleagues are being murdered around me and all our years of work are being destroyed. I hope I can finish this before they get this far."

"Tell Roland that Hibiki and his wife are dead. The boy I told him about and the twin sister aren't here. They were sent to safety yesterday. I dare not say where lest Blue Cosmos find this. Trust me, it is a truly safe place. Arrangements had been made for the children to be placed in a safe house. I just called their refuge, they will be adopted out separately now instead and raised as members of other families with no knowledge of who they are. I am so sorry that I can not tell you any more than that."

The sound of a major explosion erupted from the speaker and the recording camera shook briefly. "That was the security charge on the main data storage unit. Now no one will be able to recover enough information to find either child by any DNA trace. Tell Roland the last version of the Artificial Womb was a complete success. However, it is, or was before those barbarians blew it up, a very delicate piece of equipment and would not have been useful for the kind of mass distribution and use the Program envisioned. So no, Roland, we never really succeeded in any way that counts."

There was another massive explosion but this one was more distant. It was much heavier though and the camera shook for at least twenty seconds. Dr. Hathaway clung tightly to his desk as everything vibrated. When the camera stopped shaking, raised voices could be heard in the distance.

"Damn! They're coming! Roland, just so you know, on that other Project, the buyer did purchase a second unit! It was completed two years after the first one and put in storage. Yuuren knew you'd leave the Program if you found out so you weren't told. Only after the first was finally declared beyond salvage was the second decanted and incubated. Dee and his people have it. Despite the changes made to the program, I believe the second one will have much the same flaws over time. Emotionally however, this one should come out better. The buyer won't have any input on the nurture of this one."

The voices were getting closer. Dr. Hathaway looked terrified out of his mind now. "Roland, they're coming! I must go! I pray you get this soon! You were smarter than any of us knew when you let yourself be hired away by the University! Goodbye my friend. I'll not see you again."

There was a sharp electronic squeal and both picture and sound cut off. Kayla chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. If this was right, there wasn't going to be much of any data on Kira to find for him.

"THAT ARROGANT IDIOT!" Roland Ito screamed furiously. "Cloning humans is NOT something we can do yet! Every single one ever found was defective! Most physically and ALL of them mentally! Now there is another one out there made from that self-centered megalomaniac that graced us with Rau Le Creuset! What genocidal goal will this malformed monstrosity have?"

"Who is this Dee and can you find him?" Athrun asked calmly. "If he took the clone, he'll have the answers."

Dr. Ito settled back onto the broken chair grimly. "Oh, yes, I'm sure he will. But I'm not stupid enough to try approaching him directly! Not with the kind of influence and power he's collected over these last twenty years. No, that's not a man you want to remind that you might know something that could hurt him. He's very smooth, very polished, very civilized on the surface. But below that is a fanatic equal to anything lurking in Blue Cosmos. And this fanatic is a Coordinator, an exceptionally smart Coordinator."

He looked hard at Athrun. "Dee makes your father look like an amateur when it comes to both fanaticism and politics. Patrick was bluster and force; Dee is subtlety and precision controlled power. Your father would waste resources if it meant he could achieve his end quickly. Dee wastes nothing he can avoid wasting. He is much more intent on keeping his plans from being interrupted than he is in having them push ahead too swiftly. And that isn't his name by the way so don't go looking for him using that for a guide. It's a nickname Joel and I used."

"If this Dee is so dangerous and he's controlling another Le Creuset, then we will have to find him and stop him. We won't have a choice about it." Kira said quietly. "If we don't, he'll just do something that forces our hand in the matter eventually."

"You call this joker a fanatic." Kayla cut in. "Just what is he so fanatical about?"

"Dee is an absolute believer in predestination. He is sure past sanity that every individual comes into the world with their role in this life already written for them. And he knows, he just _knows_, that if he could force everyone to accept their life roles unquestioningly that the whole human species would live in peace and harmony forever."

"Uh huh. I see. And he plans to be the guy telling everyone what their predetermined role is, right?"

"Of course! After all, he's the only one with the vision for it!" Roland proclaimed with bitter grandiosity.

"Well, he's not telling me!" Cagalli snapped. "I can decide that for myself!"

"We all can." Dearka said uneasily. "But, hey, you know, someone to do the thinking, that'll attract a lot of people to him and not all of them will be dumb Naturals."

Dr. Ito eyed the blond pilot with surprise. "Now I wasn't expecting that from you, boy. So you're brighter than you let on. Good. You ought to use that mind more often. If you have one, you should never waste it."

Elsman gave him a look that suggested he wasn't sure if he should accept the backhanded compliment or return it on a stick. Athrun's face was a near perfect study in neutrality but his eyes were dancing with amusement. Kayla wondered how often he'd been on the receiving end of some witticism of Dearka's. He clearly was enjoying watching the other get zinged. Kira had a tiny smile on his face that was threatening to become a huge grin. He was watching the ceiling very intently, keeping his eyes well away from Elsman's face. Cagalli was glancing back and forth between all three of the guys, trying to get a read on the situation. For once, she didn't seem to be following the joke.

Before it could go far enough to slide from joke to something really not funny, Kayla remembered the one odd journal she'd found; and that she still had in her hands actually. She held it out to Roland.

"You want to take a look at this? I found it in the other room, in a pile of others that all seem to be records of the failed 'experiments'. This one is different. I can't really read it, but I think it may be for one of the clones, maybe Rau Le Creuset by the age of it."

He took it from her and opened it carefully. The mention of Le Creuset's name brought the other four in to try reading over his shoulders. For a wonder, he didn't throw a tantrum or run them off.

"Yes, this is Le Creuset's. But it's in terrible condition." Dr. Ito shook his head slowly. "I don't know how much I'll be able to recover out of here."

"What can it tell you?" Athrun asked. "I recognize just enough to understand that it's a genetic workup and comparison record; beyond that I'm lost."

"Well, if it were intact, it might be possible to use this to determine what went wrong with him physically. Why he aged so quickly, what the medications he was taking were really doing to and for him. This is the kind of data we really need to understand the real nature of human cloning. Which, as the universal failure rate shows, we most certainly do not."

"It's useless then?" Kayla asked, slightly upset at the idea.

"No, I didn't say that. I just won't be able to get anything like the quantity or quality of answers it would have given me intact. Something like this is so rare, even damaged as it is, it is still valuable and will tell us something unique."

The old man stood abruptly. "Let's leave. It's clear to me that there is little to be easily had here anymore. The only way to recover the information this place still has will be to tear it down bit by bit and search each bit down to its component atoms as you go."

"I won't argue with you." Kira said quietly. "I don't like this place."

Didn't like the place? Now there was an understatement if she'd ever heard one! He was radiating loathing and no little fear. In fact, no one was happy to be here. The knowledge that she was going to have to pass through that cavernous tank room with its ranks of the deformed dead to get out was making her more than a little nauseous.

They left, taking the data from Dr. Hathaway's computer, a copy of his message, and the ruined record of the creation of Rau Le Creuset. Knowing what had happened here, the place seemed to have filled up with ghosts since they'd come in. The wreckage was no longer random. Now that they knew, they could see the patterns in the destruction too.

Kayla shuddered. The sheer hatred that had destroyed this place was terrifying. Sixteen years later, the echo of it was still strong in the rooms and hallways. But the focused arrogance and monumental self-pride that had built it in the first place was almost as horrifying in its own way and that aura was even stronger than the hate. Toxic ethics indeed. More like no ethics at all really. It really did make the Ito Plan look almost benevolent by comparison. After all, Roland had never, ever planned to kill anyone or to permit any child to die.

She couldn't honestly remember when she'd been happier to see something as she was to exit the building and find the shuttle and the Astray waiting. She spent the trip back to the _Kusanagi_ huddled against Adrian. He had no objections to her being there. She rather thought he was just as glad not to be alone himself.

The ship left the colony's harbor almost as soon as they were back aboard. The run back to rejoin _Archangel_ and _Eternal_ was quiet; too quiet actually for it left them all with too much time to rummage in their own heads. Kayla didn't know what, if any, conclusions the others came to but she decided this was one time when she just didn't want to know any more than she already did. There was nothing she could do about the ruins back at Mendel or about the missing clone or even to help Kira deal with what he might be. This time, she was going to step back. She would support her friend as a friend, not as an inept genetic spy of some kind.

It was just as well that she'd worked the issue through. For as soon as the _Kusanagi_ joined the other ships, Lacus came over to join them. Once the initial greetings were over, she informed them she had negotiated safe returns for both the ZAFT and Alliance personnel. To Kayla and Adrian's shock, she told them the ZAFT transfer would begin tomorrow. They had gotten back just in time.


	23. Chapter 23

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

There is one small matter the kids have to take care of before going off to deal with their respective cultures for a bit. Just a minor (cough!) item they've managed to overlook.

Next update will take a few days more. I _know_ I won't have much writing time for a bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Lance Thoms sat quietly in the small crew lounge near the Kusanagi's infirmary. For the first time since he'd been injured, Yuri Lubbek was up out of bed and sitting beside him. They both wore Aube uniforms without any rank badges. Their own flight suits were ruined and there were no ZAFT uniforms available for them. Adrian was off somewhere in a similar outfit.

Yuri had taken to wearing his hair across his lost right eye, covering the bandages with its burnished hematite length. He was far too thin and he had no strength but he was alive and would recover in time. Because of the generosity of the ships of the Clyne Team, the boy hadn't lost anything more than the eye.

Well, that and a good deal of his political innocence. At fifteen, Yuri now had a better grasp of the intricacies that drove this war than some who sat on the Supreme Council. It was an interesting irony; discovering just how much one could learn sitting on a rouge ship with contacts into both sides.

The Captain wondered what he would do with his knowledge now that he was going to be leaving the ZAFT. Oh, he could stay but with a peace treaty clearly coming, a one-eyed pilot was no longer a necessity for the defense of the Plants and Yuri had no interest in military desk-work. It was too early to ask of course, but not too early to suggest his mother keep an eye on the youngster. Mother was always looking for genuine talent to train up into new Plant leadership. Yuri might well qualify.

"Captain, what happens now to 'Rin and his girl?" Yuri asked suddenly. "They can hardly go back to the Plants; she's an Earth Forces officer! And he's ZAFT; they'd shoot him on sight down on Earth."

"I don't know." Lance replied honestly. "They have agreed to each go back to their own people for right now. How that will work in the long run, I've no idea. They are very much in love and very determined to find a way to be together though. I expect they'll manage something just as soon as the treaty is signed."

"That'll take months yet. I don't think they want to wait months."

Thoms chuckled. "No, I don't think so either. But I don't see where they have any choice in the matter. The Council is not going to allow any Natural to immigrate to the Plants right now and, as you said, Adrian will not be welcome in North America at all."

The younger pilot cocked his head thoughtfully. "Sir, somehow I don't think they care what the Plants or North America thinks. They're mindful of it, but they just don't care about anyone's opinion but their own. And they do mean to have things their way. If I were the Council or the Atlantic Federation, I would be worried if I knew those two as well as I do. They're both much brighter than they usually let on and this time, they'll be quite ruthless if it gets them what they want and need."

Lance sobered instantly. "You have a point there."

Kira Yamato came whipping in the door at that moment to stand with his back against the bulkhead and his face positively crimson. Both ZAFT pilots looked at him enquiringly. He just shook his head and stared at the deck.

Lance stood up and went to have a look up the corridor in the direction the hopelessly embarrassed Yamato had come from. He didn't have to look far to see the cause of the problem. Adrian was kissing Kayla. It wasn't a kiss they should have demonstrated in public spaces. He was rather surprised they weren't melting the ship's plating. He stepped back; watching that was pure voyeurism.

"Sir?" Yuri asked carefully.

"The lovebirds." He replied. "They really shouldn't get that carried away where just anyone can walk up on them."

Poor Yuri's good eye imitated a blue fried egg. Captain Thoms shook his head.

"No, nothing so graphic. But you'd be a bit horrified I think at how, uhm how should I put this, at how much just kissing can convey."

Lubbek studied the still glowing Yamato and simply nodded, eye still very wide. Lance grinned. He grabbed Kira by the arm and towed him over to a chair and pushed him down into it. The boy semi-curled up in it, violet eyes darting around as though he was expecting the two from the hall to come wandering in and begin again right in front of him.

"I'd better break that up or the arrivals from the _Eternal_ are going to catch them at it. That would spoil the whole game even if she is wearing an Aube outfit right now."

Thoms went out into the hall and up toward the oblivious pair. At least they'd stopped for the moment to breathe! They were staring at each other like starry eyed idiots though.

He just shook his head. He could remember when he and Joni had been just as silly. For a second, old pain washed over him. They had been so happy when Jiro had been born. Who would have expected her to suddenly hemorrhage and die in her sleep only two days later? Things like that didn't happen to Coordinator women, only Naturals died like that.

It was a blessing that Mother had been willing to take on the maternal side of raising Jiro. He could not have managed being both father and mother to the boy and an officer in the ZAFT at the same time. As it was, he harbored a lot of guilt over how often he'd allowed duty to pull him away from his son.

Fortunately, neither of these young fools was a child of his! He would accrue no guilt over what he was going to do here. Lance grabbed the unprepared couple by their respective belts and yanked them apart. He sent Kayla spinning off in the general direction of the bridge and the unwary Adrian down the hall toward the crew lounge. Both of them yelled objections, notably angry ones at that.

"Shut up! Both of you! Check the time you idiots! The whole object of this exercise is to prevent anyone else in ZAFT from finding out about you two, not to advertise it in their faces! They'll be here in less than an hour now. You've said all the good-bye you have time for. Get to your places right now!"

"Yes sir." Adrian sounded like a sulky ten year old but he obeyed the order.

Grayhawk gave him a look that could have peeled paint. He was unmoved. Only when she turned away did he go back to the lounge himself.

He shouldn't have trusted her. He'd no sooner cleared the door than she dived right past him. Yuri looked up in alarm and the hapless Kira rather appeared to want to merge right into the chair and vanish.

"Damn it, Lieutenant!" This wasn't funny and he wasn't amused.

"Oh don't blow a seal! This won't take much time." She snapped back as she landed neatly in the low gravity and stepped over to stand in front of a confused Yuri.

"We haven't had much time to talk and aren't going to get any now, but I want you to know; I'm glad I met you." She carefully offered her right hand, the arm still in its protective splint. "I don't know if Adrian has ever gotten around to telling you, but he's damn glad to have you for his backup. If you've really saved his idiot butt as often as he claims, I'm glad you're his backup too!"

This was completely unexpected. Yuri was plainly both startled and touched. He rose carefully and took her hand.

He suddenly really didn't look a day over fifteen as he smiled shyly back at her. "Thank you. I'm not sorry I met you either. Because of you, and all these people I've met here since you risked your life to save mine, well, I have a better understanding of how really varied Naturals are now. I used to think you were all Blue Cosmos. I'll never make that mistake again."

She grinned wryly at him. "Yeah, well, you guys have helped expand my view of Coordinators too so we're even."

Suddenly, she pulled the younger boy into a careful hug. "You take care of yourself, hear? I'd hate to get word you made it all the way through the war only to walk into a door or something stupid!"

He laughed softly. "I'll try not to!"

Lance watched the boy shake Grayhawk's hand one last time, then carefully sit back down. She'd made a friend here. He could see it in Yuri's warm smile. She'd done it with honesty. The young pilot had a keen sense for what was real and what was fake. Kayla liked him; he knew it and was willing to return the favor.

When the emerald eyed girl turned to him, those eyes held respect. So he wasn't surprised when she stopped a few feet from him and gave him a crisp, Alliance salute. He returned it with the formal ZAFT gesture. He also saw the smile that move set tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Captain Thoms, you are a pain in the ass."

"Opinion noted, Lieutenant Grayhawk. I won't go into what you've done to my Second but I will note that having you seduce him was not helpful to his recent service performance."

One jet eyebrow rose slightly and she muttered, "Depends on who is evaluating that."

Lance managed not to burst out laughing but it was a very near thing. "Ah, I suppose it would be at that."

He caught another of those paint-peeling looks. "You weren't supposed to hear that. What, all you people come with radar ears or something?"

"Or something." Thoms agreed amiably.

She held out her hand with a wry smile. "Whatever. Despite everything, I'm not sorry I met you either."

Lance took it, very mindful of her half-healed arm. "Nor am I sorry to have known you. I think you and that blockhead will be very good for each other. I hope you both are very, very happy for a great many years."

"Thanks, Captain."

"Too bad you don't have a ring to give her." Yuri remarked wistfully, glancing at Adrian. "That would be so appropriate right now."

Thoms was also looking at his Second at that moment so he saw realization suddenly cross Ito's face. Now that was interesting. Especially when mixed with equal parts of chagrin and embarrassment. Just what major item had the boy forgotten now?

He was almost shocked when Adrian opened his collar and fished a necklace out from under his shirt. The boy was fanatically secretive about that necklace. It was either around his neck or locked in a very special box. No one had ever convincingly claimed to know what was on it. Yet he was pulling it out here?

"Ah, Kayla, a moment please?"

Things were getting more interesting by the second. Adrian sounded remarkably unsure of himself. Whatever this was, it was serious, at least to Adrian.

"Sure." She turned questioningly.

To his Captain's amazement, the boy came to a complete halt. He stood there with the mysterious necklace in his hand and a look of near terror on his face. What the hell was going on?

It took him three tries to find his voice again. "Ah, . . . . . . . . you know, we've . . . . . . uhm, talked."

She waited a couple of minutes but he'd run out of words.

"Yes," she said finally, "about a lot of things. But I'd say from the way you're all frozen up the topic is us. Right?"

He nodded stiffly, eyes now studying the deck plates as if his life depended on it. "Ahhhhh . . . . . . . . . . well . . . . . . . . all that talk, you . . . . . . . . I . . . . ."

The girl waited a couple more minutes before noting dryly, "You know this is going nowhere real fast don't you?"

His eyes came up and locked on her. It was the look in them that suddenly told Lance Thoms what was wrong. He couldn't decide if he should laugh, cry or just slap the kid in the head to kick start him again. How could even Adrian Ito have overlooked something that basic? Then he looked again at the girl and knew. They were almost too perfectly in tune with each other. He was willing to bet she'd missed it too.

Suddenly Adrian took one great gulp of air, held it, then let it out in an explosive sigh. It seemed to steady him. His breathing became noticeably more regular and his eyes held much less panic.

He spoke very carefully though. "I just realized that I've been making a lot of assumptions. I think I should check with you before I keep on doing that."

Her eyes rolled impatiently. "Depends on what you're assuming."

He smiled slightly at that. "Yes, it does. Well, it's about all this future planning we've been doing. I forgot a step in there. It's a fairly important one."

"And that is?" She asked with the brittle calm of someone trying not to scream.

"Kayla, will you marry me?"

She stared at him. "What?"

"Will you marry me?"

The look in her eyes turned inward. Several emotions chased each other briefly across her face. The one that stayed was stunned surprise.

"Ye gods! You haven't asked before now!"

"Ah, no. That's what Yuri and his comment about rings just reminded me."

"How did we miss that?"

"Too much future focus?"

"Oh yeah, I'd say we got the cart a couple light years ahead of the horse!"

Yuri was trying very hard not to laugh. Kira Yamato was just about down to chewing on the chair cushions in his efforts to control his laughter. Lance was having almost as much trouble as the boys. Yet they all knew the first giggle was going to get the giggler slapped silly. This wasn't funny to the two involved at all. Kayla was nearly bouncing off the walls, she was so irritated.

"Ah, Kayla?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you?"

She stopped bouncing and hissing about how dumb they'd been and stared hard at him. "Are you nuts? _My_ Coordinator, Ito, you're _mine_! Mine, mine, mine, all _mine_! Got it?"

Adrian jumped forward and snatched her up, spinning them both around. "_My_ Natural! Mine and mine alone!"

"Right!"

They really were a striking couple. And no matter what the cause, nature or pheromones or gift of God, they were very much in love. It had been a long time since he'd seen a level of attachment like this. They were floating in a slow spin a few feet off the deck, eyes closed, just holding each other. It was one of those moments it was a crime to end.

But time was not their ally. There were going to be just over thirty other ZAFT mobile suit pilots and ship crew survivors coming aboard very soon now. Adrian was going to need time to recover and readjust his mindset to cope with them. She needed to get up to the bridge and out of sight.

They separated on their own just before he reached for them. Adrian opened his hand, the one holding the jealously guarded necklace. There were three rings on it. A wedding set, Lance realized at first glance, and not a new one.

"These were my maternal grandparents rings." He said quietly. "I broke several laws and even more regulations when I slipped onto the ruin of Junius Seven to visit my home. I found my Dad had seen and understood what had happened. He had managed to get the whole family into the temporary safety of our emergency shelter, but he knew it didn't have enough resources to last them until rescue could come. Dad was a veterinary surgeon; he had some very powerful drugs around the house. Somehow, he saw to it that they all just went to sleep and never woke up. Then he set up a box with things he wanted Mother to have and left a note on it. Only then did he go himself. I found the box and brought it back to Mom. These were in it, along with a note from Grandfather Chu, asking me to use them when I married."

He looked up, eyes full of ghosts. "He wanted them to go on, to be part of a renewal. I would very much like to honor his wish. Kayla, will you wear Grandmother's ring, make it yours for now and someday, pass it on again?"

"I'd be honored."

Adrian got the ring off the necklace, closed it and dropped it, with the two wedding bands still on it, back over his head. Lance was startled to discover the ring was carefully encased in a protective wrap. It was only when that came off that he realized just what a remarkable item this was.

The ring was a sturdy gold band with five stones set into the central channel. With the wrap on, the stones had looked like fairly decent white diamonds. When it came off and the light caught them, they suddenly refracted fiery color everywhere. Lance Thoms stared. Were those what he thought they were?

"What are these, Adrian? I've never seen them before. They're beautiful!" Kayla was studying them with fascinated eyes.

"We call them Nebula diamonds. They're found in some asteroids. Some people think they're proof that the asteroid belt is the ruins of a former planet since diamond only forms under conditions of great heat and pressure, like fairly deep in a planetary crust. They're not common and the good ones, and these are very good stones, are expensive. But if you don't know what you're looking at, there are a couple of synthetics they are sometimes mistaken for and you'll want to pretend that's what they are."

He caught her left hand and tried the ring for size. There was some difficulty getting it on over the knuckle but once it cleared the joint, it actually fit quite well. Considering the value of the ring, the fact that it was so difficult to get on or off was no bad thing really.

Kira and Yuri promptly offered their congratulations. Yuri accepted his second hug from Kayla calmly. Kira, well Kira blushed to his ears as usual. That boy was really going to have to get over that some day. Lance rather thought the supposedly 'Ultimate Coordinator' probably shouldn't turn quite that red every time a girl did anything more than talk to him. His adoptive Natural parents must have really seen to it he led a sheltered life, especially sheltered from girls his own age!

Proposals and rings did not extend the time limits though. A call from the lounge intercom up to the bridge to Colonel Kisaka however did. He offered his congratulations to the pair as well and arranged about a ten minute delay for the ZAFT arrivals in the landing bay. It was not a lot but it was the most that could reasonably be squeezed out without it being obvious that the holdup was deliberate. This time when he pushed her out the door, Grayhawk really left.

"The bridge crew will do just fine, Captain. Colonel Kisaka will keep her from being seen." Kira told him reassuringly as he checked one more time to be sure she hadn't slipped back again.

Lance turned to him, reminded suddenly that he was still there. "Yamato, what are you even doing here? I thought you were supposed to stay over on the _Archangel_. None of our people are supposed to know who you are."

"Aside from you three, Dearka, Athrun and Dr. Ito, none of your people do." He pointed out reasonably. "Even Yzak Joule hasn't actually met me yet. He might recognize my voice but he couldn't pick me out of a crowd. The others who know me are staying with the _Eternal_ and Lacus."

"That doesn't answer the question of why you're here."

"Cagalli decided on that. She wants a first hand report of how things go at the transfer since everyone has persuaded her she can't come along. So I'm officially here as her representative. All you know about me is my name and that I'm some kind of relative, all right?"

"Ah, so that's why you're wearing an Aube Captain's uniform." Yuri said, enlightenment in his voice. "I was going to ask about that but other things kind of drove it out of my head here."

"That's it." Kira agreed.

"So do we know anything else?" Adrian enquired.

"Colonel Kisaka has decided I will be from Mobile Suit Command. Its about all I do know and, well, at least I can talk intelligently about flying mobile suits if I have to. Mostly, I just want to stand around smiling politely with my mouth shut though."

He could talk about flying mobile suits. Pilot for Strike and Freedom, defender of the _Archangel_, ah, yeah, he certainly could do that! Although it would be very unwise to mention anything about those suits or that ship to the people due here soon. Still, he had flown an Astray so he could talk convincingly about one of them too.

"What kind of relative of Cagalli's are you supposed to be?" Adrian asked.

"You aren't supposed to be sure, you just know we're related."

"No, that's not the question. Kira, you aren't obviously a Coordinator like Yuri, the Captain and I are. So do we know you're one of us or not?"

"Good question. I hadn't thought about that one." He turned to Lance. "Captain, what do you think is better?"

"Don't mention it at all." He replied promptly. "If we're asked, we don't know. If someone asks you, don't answer. The Athha family is known to be Natural but with Aube's acceptance of Coordinators and your actual relationship to Cagalli undefined, leave this in limbo too."

"All right." Kira agreed readily.

Colonel Kisaka abruptly stuck his head in the door. "Captain, will you three come with me? Andy Waltfeld just sent over proper uniforms for you that should fit."

"Where did he get those?" Yuri asked in surprise. "He told us he didn't have any just yesterday."

"He reports he had visitors very early this morning." Kisaka told them. "He seems to suddenly have a number of things he didn't have yesterday."

Ah, so that was the way of it was it? Practical contacts into the Plants were something he'd suspected all along. How else had Lacus managed to take the _Eternal_ in the first place? Waltfeld and his team were very, very good but there just weren't enough of them to have pulled it off alone.

There was a medical orderly waiting with the uniforms to help them deal with both the clothing and the splints and slings they all still needed. Andy had judged the sizes perfectly. His and Adrian's fit exactly while Yuri's was slightly oversized, giving even greater visual impact to his too-thin body and missing eye.

Lance studied the effects carefully. Yuri's hematite-dark hair and lightly tanned skin now had a very slight greenish cast as the standard ZAFT uniform threw a bit of its color up onto his face. Combined with the 'wasted body' effect of the oversize uniform, he really did look like he'd been snatched back from the jaws of death. Anyone looking at him would question why he was out of bed at all.

Back in Elite red, Adrian was a striking contrast. Here was the frustrated warrior, the young man held back by bones that refused to knit fast enough. The arm was now not only splinted but held in a crisp white sling under the coat, which was worn open to accommodate it. The open coat also allowed one to see the bulk of another splint that ran from knee to hip on the thigh bone of left leg under the uniform pants. And while the uniform was a perfect fit, the fact that it was brand new suggested some significant weight loss on the Elite's part too. It gave a subtle hint that all was not as well as the warrior would have everyone believe.

A study in a mirror showed him safely in the middle ground. He was clearly better off than Yuri and obviously in worse shape than Adrian. The effect of the three of them together was everything he'd hoped it would be. No one seeing them would doubt the two less injured of the Team had refused to leave the third, too badly wounded to move, alone in the hands of the Naturals.

Yuri was getting shaky by the time they got back to the lounge. It was only his first day out of bed after all. The crew had done a make-over on the space in the brief time they'd been gone. There were now couches and stuffed chairs enough to accommodate almost forty people. A buffet had been laid out on tables set against one bulkhead. And someone had kicked the special gravity compensators up in here to about one quarter Earth normal. Food would stay on plates now and you could actually sit in the chairs.

Captain Thoms claimed three chairs set close together and put Yuri in the center one. He and Ito took the outer two. Now the frail boy was protected whether he wanted to be or not. He did not appear grateful for the kind gesture. The sound of a number of people in the corridor focused them all on the doorway. It seemed their company was about to arrive. Suddenly he was quite glad Adrian had remembered to actually propose. Because it would have been too late if he'd thought of it now.


	24. Chapter 24

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Now they each have to go home and deal with their own cultures. Only then will they be able to consider how to deal with each other again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The small, well appointed meeting room set in the lowest level of the Council's building was not commonly used. It was a very secure spot; one with two concealed entrances in addition to the one public door. Quite private negotiations were the norm when this room was in use and today was no exception. What was unusual was the lack of disguises here. The four people seated around the beautifully inlaid table were each quite well aware of who the other three were.

"There isn't much I can do for Patrick's son. He was just too open, too publicly himself in that battle. If Athrun Zala returns to the Plants, someone will kill him. It is that simple. There are too many of his father's followers left who will never forgive him."

"Nonsense! Just because it isn't possible to allow him to come home doesn't mean there is nothing you can do for him. We've been friends for decades; I've watched you handle worse than this. He needs at least some kind of official pardon. What he did wasn't treason! He saved us, Eileen; he saved the future of all Coordinators when he prevented his insane father from destroying the genetic base we _must_ have available to draw from until we can really set ourselves free!"

"Not everyone can see that."

Roland Ito snorted inelegantly. "Unimportant, Madam Chairman. The blindness of the few or of the masses won't change the reality of the situation. We aren't diverse enough to survive without the gene pool of the planet to draw on for at least two more generations yet. We will be much stronger if we can keep a solid tap into that genetic treasure-trove a half dozen or more generations into the future! Athrun Zala and the Yamato boy literally saved our backsides by stopping that machine. Yamato has a place to go home to, but Zala will need some kind of official deal worked out or too many will look on him as fair game."

Eileen Canaver, Interim Supreme Council Chairman turned a dour eye on both her old friend and the blunt geneticist. They had asked her for this meeting to discuss several other people's fate, young Zala hadn't been on the list at all. Yet he was the first one they'd brought up.

"I'm rather surprised you are so worried about Zala. I would have expected other people to be more important to you, Roland."

"Oh, they are, they are." Dr. Ito agreed calmly but he didn't elaborate.

There was a quiet sigh, then Serin Ito spoke. "Yes, there are those more important to us, Madam, but there are few more likely to take attention away from the ones we want to save. We need eyes focused on Athrun Zala so they won't look elsewhere."

"Well, one honest voice at last!"

"I've been absolutely honest with you!"

"Yes, Miranda, you have. But you haven't been complete in your details and the old line about the devil being in the details really applies here. So you need a red herring and you think Zala will do, is that it?"

"Not exactly." Serin replied calmly. "Athrun Zala will quite genuinely need your help and he quite genuinely deserves it. He has served the Plants with all his heart. The decisions he's made were not made lightly or without great cost to his soul. This is his home and his people; he would readily die to preserve the Plants. What he has been forced to choose to do is live in disgrace to achieve that preservation. You have the power to lift at least some of that disgrace and you should. At the same time; yes, it will distract attention from my son, Miranda's son, the Elsman boy, and even young Joule. It will make it possible to bring them home with their names and honor intact, even if we can't achieve quite that much for Athrun."

"You haven't mentioned the Lubbek boy." Eileen noted.

"Shouldn't need to." Roland said shortly. "Badly wounded hero. Unconscious when captured by the Naturals. His story is written on his body. Also, the family is not and has never been political. He's unlikely to be a target."

Eileen shook her head. "There are going to be some things I can't do you do understand that don't you? I can't make evidence vanish for example. Especially the kind that has multiple copies. Too many people can testify that young Elsman was working with the _Archangel_ in the last months of the war. If some evidence can be found that they had some means of coercion, that would be very helpful; otherwise there may be treason charges filed. Even if it can be proven he was being forced into it, he'll still be out of the Elites. The snobs who run that program won't let him stay if there is evidence he gave in to the Naturals in any way. That just wouldn't be in keeping with being an Elite and they couldn't have that!"

"We know this. No one is asking for the impossible. We just want as many of the young people as possible brought home with their records sliding under the political radar as we can possibly manage." Miranda Thoms said wearily.

"I've asked for my son and his Team and a friend or two but really, there will be many more. Patrick had quite a list of those he planned to purge and those of his followers who remain in positions of power are trying to carry out those plans. They intend to return to the top as quickly as they can. I'm hoping to keep as many of our honest young men and women untainted with this political slop as I can"

"We need to do some purging of our own." Roland snapped. "Including a few snobs on the Elite Selection Board. They're sliding into an obsession with image that is very dangerous."

Serin tapped the table, catching their attention. "What we need to be is damned careful. Eileen here will not be in office very long. There are several groups who have been working to build their power bases that Patrick was suppressing. Unfortunately, Siegel Clyne's moderates are the group he has damaged most. They are Eileen's base too and they won't be able to put enough together in the next election to keep her in office. You talk of purging Patrick's people; that will have to be done by consensus or they will only be restored as soon as she steps down. The reforms that stick will all have to be achieved by consensus; and that takes time. Time is not our friend."

"Dee." Roland said bitterly.

"Most likely." Eileen agreed unhappily. "If not this first election, then by the second he will have his people in power. He may even step forward and seek the Chairmanship for himself. He's too good and he's too well organized. We can't stop him. In fact, purging Patrick's fanatics will only give Dee openings for his."

"We still need to get Patrick's people out of office." Miranda Thoms said flatly. "They pose an immediate danger to too many of our returning veterans. And there are ways to limit the number of people Dee can place immediately. He's always been a man for the long view has Dee. He'll wait for his time to come. He's still relatively young, he can afford to. Moreover, he needs most of Patrick's fanatics out of the way too. At this point, he'll not stop us. He may even covertly help us for the next few months. The trick for our survival will be seeing just when we must appear to bow out and leave the field to him."

"This brings me back to getting our own home with their good names intact and their unofficial contacts on Earth unnoticed and unharmed." Serin cut in. "They have made some very unusual friends, friends who will be in positions of power and influence down there. We will have an ear into Aube Intelligence. It will be a hearing-impaired one to be sure but it will also be one on an unprecedented level. And the Aube have learned a very bitter lesson about not keeping close enough tabs on their neighbor's intentions."

"The Princess of Aube and her hidden Coordinator twin brother." Eileen Canaver said slowly. "Unusual friends indeed."

"Oh, they won't be hiding Kira Yamato any longer." Roland snorted. "I don't know what they'll do with him officially but he'll have a place there and it won't be a minor one or a decorative one. And Cagalli Athha has offered young Zala a refuge as well. So once we can get him some kind of deal, he actually does have somewhere to go now. Lacus Clyne will go to Aube as well. Smart of her to stay out of the Plants and easy reach of Patrick's embittered adherents too."

"Out of Dee's reach as well although I doubt she knows the need to avoid him yet." Miranda said quietly. "Well Eileen, will you do it?"

"Yes." The Chairman of the Plants replied bluntly. "The reasons for it are much better than the considerations against it, even for Elsman's son. I need something for him though and I'll need it soon."

Roland Ito reached into a pocket and withdrew a small data disc that he slid across the table to her. "That should help. It is a recording, supposedly made by an agent of the Junk Guild, that caught a conversation between Captain Ramius of the _Archangel_ and Colonel Kisaka of the _Kusanagi_. They put several nice tidbits on it for you but the one that matters for this is where they discuss how she got Elsman to defend the _Archangel_ by promising him he would get to fight the Earth Forces all he wanted to and would never be asked to fire on his own people. Since he didn't start helping them until the Battle of Aube, which was against the Atlantic Federation, and he's never been recorded as firing on any ZAFT personnel at all, this should be just what you need."

Eileen picked it up thoughtfully. "And how did we come by Junk Guild information? They don't offer it to us you know."

"Oh, there was that little two man ship the GINN patrol found day before yesterday, remember? Made the news because it was identified as Junk Guild and floating in the debris field of the Jachin Due battle with no evidence of any pilot left aboard? It'll be easy enough to say it came from there." Roland grinned evilly.

She looked at him sharply. "Fine, but what will the Guild have to say about it?"

"They set it up for us. And believe me, they were well paid for it!" Miranda said feelingly. "The whole thing is deniable on their part as there is nothing on the disc or the ship to tie the two together. Nor, when they tear that disc down, will they actually be able to prove _it_ was Junk Guild made either."

"Ah, I see. Everyone is covered all around. Yet analysis of the disc will prove that the people in the recording _are_ Ramius and Kisaka?"

"Beyond any doubt." Serin replied directly.

"Good enough! You may leave the rest to me."

"Thank you, Eileen."

"Don't thank me yet, Miranda. I haven't succeeded, I've only just promised to do my best for everyone."

Miranda Thoms stood calmly. "I have great faith in your best."

* * *

Kira pressed his hand to his temple. "Message from Kayla! Actually, she's relaying one from Dacosta on the _Eternal_. It says 'Watch out for the Commander. All other's all right guys.' Sounds like we have a problem coming down the hall."

"Just what we need." Adrian muttered as he eyed the set-up. The new man would technically outrank Captain Thoms. This could be very bad. He'd never met Waltfeld's Second, but the man had a very good name as a quick thinker and a decent judge of character. And he was damned competent of course, or he wouldn't be the Tiger's Second!

Thoms just snorted. "We take this as it comes gentlemen. Now relax and look happy to see our comrades from ZAFT. We've been stuck on a Natural ship and isolated lately, we will be expected to be glad to see other Coordinators."

Kira stepped back and to one side, separating himself from their group. He'd no sooner moved than Colonel Kisaka entered the lounge with a ZAFT officer in command whites about his own age beside him. Thirty some odd other ZAFT officers and ship crewmen followed him in, all of them much closer to Adrian's age. They lined up neatly behind the Commander.

Adrian stood when a quick snap of Captain Thoms' fingers reminded him he was back in an environment where military etiquette applied. He gave Yuri a hand up when he unexpectedly had trouble getting to his feet and kept that hand on his friend's belt when he proved to be unsteady on them. So it happened that only the Captain had a hand free on the correct side to salute the Commander.

Adrian didn't miss the rather distant look in Colonel Kisaka's eyes. Nor did he fail to note the irritation in the Commander's when only Thoms managed a salute. Wonderful, a self-important ass. He really could have lived with out this.

"Commander Cottman, this is Captain Thoms of the Thoms Team, his Second, Elite Ito, and their remaining Team mate, Lieutenant Lubbek. These are the officers rescued by the GINN piloted by an escaping Alliance prisoner of war. As you can see, they were in no condition to refuse the rescue at the time."

Commander Cottman had dark blue hair similar to Athrun Zala's and bright blue eyes much like Yuri's. He also had the look of someone who lived in a state of perpetual suspicion. He stared hard at them, eyes running over their obvious injuries and Yuri's increasing unsteadiness.

"Yes, so I see." The man ground out finally. Adrian kept his face blank although what he wanted to do was hit the man. So, he thought they'd just surrendered or worse did he? And what did he know about it? Those collar tabs belonged to a ship's Supply Officer. He had no combat experience! Who did he think he was, making judgments like that?

The Colonel didn't give him time to make any more snide remarks as he turned to Kira. "Commander, this is Captain Yamato of our Mobile Suit Command. He is Princess Cagalli's personal representative and will be here to assist you with anything you may need during the trip."

Kira gave the man a crisp Aube salute but said nothing. The note in Colonel Kisaka's voice confirmed what the eyes had said earlier; he did not care for the Commander at all. Given the distain the man was directing at Kira, Adrian decided active dislike was a better option and that he was going to choose it.

Yuri picked that moment to wobble badly. Captain Thoms tossed standard etiquette aside and had them both resume their seats. He let himself sway slightly before he smiled apologetically and sat himself. Cottman was clearly not pleased but he had no excuse for keeping wounded men on their feet either. He turned his irritation on Kira.

"You're a Captain are you?" The sneer brought Kisaka up in sharp anger.

Kira however, stayed calmly neutral. "Yes Commander."

"Mobile suits, eh?"

"Yes Commander." The pilot of Strike and Freedom replied drily.

"Naturals have no business in mobile suits." Cottman snipped.

That was outside of enough! No damned _supply_ officer was going to get away with saying things like that! In fact, he wouldn't take that from anyone who hadn't been out in a mobile suit themselves to face the Naturals in combat! Kira could be polite if he wanted to but Adrian had something to say to this barking dog.

He pitched his voice to carry and made sure the contempt was very clear as well. "Depends on the Natural. The Hawk of Endymion was one hell of a mobile suit pilot. He was a Natural. The Tomahawk can fly a mobile suit, she's a Natural. Those Strike Daggers that caused so much trouble at Boaz and Jachin Due weren't being flown by rogue Coordinators. And never forget those three special suits that almost let the nukes through to the Plants. Naturals at the controls there too. Not to mention that most of the Astray pilots for Aube seem to be Naturals as well. No, I'd say the Naturals have learned what to do in mobile suits all right."

Commander Cottman turned, eyes blazing. "Your opinion was not sought, Elite! Your Team Leader needs to speak to you, very firmly!"

"His Team Leader agrees with him." Lance Thoms snapped. "I had the opportunity to watch the Tomahawk, when very unwisely offered the chance, learn how to pilot a standard GINN. It was all simulator work but that simulator had unmodified software and an equipment package meant as a standard training aide for our cadets. In two months of intensive effort, she mastered the basic skills needed. When she got a chance to steal a real GINN, she turned out to be able to operate it well enough to be mistaken for an advanced cadet! And she took advantage of that mistaken identity to actually escape! Moreover, I've seen genuine footage of her handling the GINN in real combat. She wasn't particularly good, but she was good enough to survive."

He paused, then said with careful emphasis; "She was good enough to survive in actual combat flying a ZAFT GINN. A Natural, flying an unmodified, stolen ZAFT GINN! Think about that one for a bit, eh?"

Thoms stared hard at the shocked Commander while Adrian mentally cheered from the sidelines. "The brutal truth is if you give any above average Natural pilot a mobile suit with an operating system written to compensate for his or her limitations, they will be formidable opponents restrained only by the quality of their equipment. The day when we could sit back and happily kill nearly helpless mobile armors is gone. From now on, we will face mobile suits that will not be all that inferior to our own. To go into battle believing in the blind myth of automatic Coordinator superiority is to go out to die. And we don't have the population to afford that kind of stupidity!"

Adrian noted that Captain Thom's report of what Kayla had done had certainly caused a stir among the other ZAFT personnel standing behind the Commander. He could pick out the mobile suit pilots now. They were the ones who understood just what kind of accomplishment that really had been. And they understood why they should be a little afraid of it too. There seemed to be quite a number of them clustered around one tall Oriental youngster with cadet badges on his collar. He was talking very rapidly, hands flying as he illustrated whatever story he was telling. Commander Cottman on the other hand was gaping at the Captain like a fish, eyes and mouth wide open.

"It would seem you haven't had a lot of combat experience, Commander." Yuri suddenly spoke up, his tired voice managing to carry surprisingly well. "If you had, you'd know how dangerous Naturals can be even with their often inferior equipment and always inferior physical skills."

"And a child like you has?" The man came out of his fish trance to snap at Yuri.

"Well, the Team didn't start at the Grimaldi Front but it has been in most of the major space actions and several major Earthside battles. Yuri and I joined just in time for the abortive strike at the Seventh Orbital Fleet. We've been part of everything since." Adrian replied for the weary Lubbek.

He paused, then added coolly, "Including "Operation Spit Break."

That produced immediate silence. For reasons beyond his comprehension, there was a mystique growing up around the remaining survivors of that disaster. Especially those who, like the Thoms Team, had actually been in combat at JOSH-A when the Cyclops went off and lived to tell the story. There weren't all that many of them really. The initial number had been small. The vicious fighting planetside that had seen ZAFT driven back to just the area around Carpentaria had claimed a number of those who'd survived Alaska. This last round of battles here at the Plants had cost more of that small group of veterans. But if it would shut this fool up, Adrian would milk 'Spit Break' for all it was worth.

The Oriental cadet broke the silence. "You, all three of you, were actually at JOSH-A?"

"Yes." Yuri replied gently. "We were the lucky Team that day. We only lost one man. Now we're all that's left. The Thoms Team wasn't so lucky at Jachin Due."

It was Kira who broke the uncomfortable silence that followed. "Commander, if you will, we've set up a buffet for your people. There will be cabin space for those who are tired to nap later. We expect to meet the _Magellan_ in approximately twelve hours."

Commander Cottman made one last jab at being unpleasant as he asked Kira very shortly, "Just what are you to the Princess of Aube?"

"Kin." Yamato replied briefly as he turned and with a wave of his hand, indicated the ZAFT survivors should help themselves to the buffet.

The younger ZAFT people proved to be hungry. Kira rounded up a couple of the _Kusanagi_'s mess crew and saw to it that the three of them had food brought to them. When Adrian looked questioningly at him, he got a small hand sign that warned him to play along. It didn't take him long to realize that Kira was making sure everyone saw that they were all too injured to stand in line for their own meal. More fuel for the cover story then.

While Commander Cottman grabbed one of the few tables to dine in splendid isolation, everyone else broke up into small clusters to just eat and talk. A few of the boldest chose the seats in their cluster, giving them someone new to talk to. Among them was that one cadet. Kira hovered nearby as well, almost as if he was using them as a bit of a shield from the Commander. He finally sat down when Captain Thoms formally asked him to join them for lunch.

The Captain's apparently casual questions got them a flood of information about the last battle, the one they'd slept through. And while the small group sitting with them didn't know the whole battle, they did know a couple parts of it surprisingly well. They were told of the rescue of the Plants for a second time by Justice and Freedom. Of the destruction of two of the special Earth Forces mobile suits by Yzak Joule, running on a spectacular temper explosion he successfully channeled into action. They knew the third had gone down but weren't sure if Freedom or Justice had gotten it, just that it had been one of them.

The most interesting story of the group though, was Cadet Lu's. Actually he had two stories. The first was about being abandoned on the battlefield with sixty-two other cadets on the first day of the battle only to find there was a leader in the group. He told them about the plan, and the somewhat haphazard execution of it, to defend the Plants from those nukes that got past the front lines. And then he told them who he discovered they had been following.

"I finally couldn't stand it. She just knew too much, planned too fast, picked up broken pieces too well. And she called the main battle a 'furball'. That's not a ZAFT pilot's term. So I shot over a private comm line and flat out asked her if she was one of ours."

"Are you insane?" One of the other pilots demanded. "Who else would a cadet be?"

"That wasn't a cadet." Adrian told him quietly. "You haven't put this together with some things Captain Thoms mentioned earlier."

Lu eyed him with interest. "You're right sir. She said her name was Kayla Grayhawk, 421st Air Wing, . ."

"3d Mobile Squadron." Adrian interrupted with a small smile. "Tomahawk. A nickname she despises."

"Yes sir." Lu agreed.

"Bad joke." The pilot who had spoken before said warily.

"No joke." Captain Thoms told him. "I did mention I'd seen footage of her handling a stolen GINN in combat. I did not mention it was during that fight. Nor did I note that I was the one recording it. It is unfortunate that my suit's records didn't survive, they would have been very instructive to those who want to insist the Naturals can't ever match us in anything. And while her actual combat skills in the machine weren't all that impressive, her flying skills were. She won that fight by out flying her enemy. An enemy who was a very experienced GINN pilot by the way."

"You just let her kill one of ours?"

"No, we didn't." Adrian snapped. "By the time that happened we were already completely disabled and floating power down. None of us had a weapon left that could have lit a candle let alone knocked over a GINN. Yuri here was unconscious and trying to bleed to death by then too."

"So it was the Tomahawk who decided to save you. Why?" The pilot asked.

"We were in the firing line of Genesis." Yuri replied. "She told me it pissed her off to see people with no chance just left out there to die. It was too like how her people were betrayed by their own at JOSH-A. So she grabbed us since we were on her own shortest flight line out of the death zone too."

"Tomahawk was at JOSH-A. She said that was where she'd been captured." Lu remarked.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed, his mind drifting back to that wild day. "It was."

Lu gave him a very thoughtful look but didn't say anything more. The discussion chewed that story down to rags and went looking for a new topic. Lu was ready to oblige there too. It seemed he'd been a bit stupid on the second day of the fighting and had gone forward after the nukes were accounted for. Even he called it a fool's move and admitted he'd survived on pure luck. But it had left him with a disabled GINN drifting alongside the Genesis machine itself. He'd seen the Justice and the Strike Rouge blast their way into it. But he'd also drifted far enough forward to see and record the stunning battle between Freedom and Providence held between the machine and the mirror block.

He tried to describe it and told them he was failing. They had just moved too fast! All the DRAGOON's involved hadn't helped either. He couldn't begin to keep track of them.

"But he could! He was unbelievable! His fighting was superb right from the start. Then, very late in the battle, something changed. He went from simply better than good to beyond human. It was as though a switch had tripped, sending him into a whole new level of ability." Lu shook his head slowly, awe in his eyes at the memory.

"Suddenly the DRAGOON's that had been able to hit him were missing. But he wasn't. He was picking them off, one by one in rapid succession. Just taking them out of the fight. A last shot destroyed his one remaining beam gun. He grabbed his beam saber and just charged straight into the other suit. He slammed that saber right through it, through the cockpit most likely from what I could see. Instants later, Genesis tried to fire again. The Providence was caught in the mirror field and disintegrated in seconds. Freedom jumped out. But I know it was too close when Genesis blew up since it was closer than I was and _I_ was too close! I still don't know how my GINN missed being smashed to bits by all the junk that blast threw out!"

He sighed. "I lost track of Freedom then. And I couldn't find it again when the worst of the trash cleared. I don't know if it survived or not. I hope it did. I'd like to have a chance to talk to that pilot some day. The things you could _learn_ from someone like that!"

"He's Earth Alliance," someone pointed out morosely, to the gloomy agreement of the group that had gathered while Lu had been talking. "It'll never happen."

"No," Adrian corrected. "He's with the _Archangel_. And that ship is with the Clyne Team. Properly approached, you might very well be able to talk to him someday."

Kira looked up, eyes tired and deeply sad. "I would hope and pray it would never be necessary again. We've won a peace here. Lets not talk about needing the skills to kill again but about developing new skills that will let us get along without any more wars."

Lance Thoms nodded. "That's the dream. That's what all of good will must work for now. But, Kira, in reaching for that dream and working your heart out to make it real, never let yourself forget that there are those who will be working against it just as hard. The hatreds that started this war are still with us. I will join you in praying for the success of peace. I won't abandon the means of defending myself if those prayers fall on deaf ears."

"Adrian?" Kira asked quietly.

"I am going home. I plan to get married and start a family. Peace is my dream too. But I am also the only surviving son of a Junius Seven family. I will be staying in the ZAFT, Kira. Because someone will have to be standing ready to protect my family if the peace fails."

"We're combat veterans." Yuri said suddenly. "We know war first hand. None of us would want to start another one if we can get what we need by peaceful means. But the leadership of Earth and some of the leadership of the Plants is not trustworthy. I too, will pray for peace and keep a wary eye out for war. Because I don't think the hogs who started this are satisfied yet."

He looked over at the unhappy Ultimate Coordinator. "Sorry, Kira. I don't trust the politicians."

Kira Yamato just dropped his eyes to his empty plate and said nothing. He had very little to say for the rest of the trip in fact. He came alive enough to do his public relations bit at the exchange with the _Magellan_ but that was all. They shook hands and wished each other well but it was obvious Kira's heart wasn't in it. They hadn't told him what he needed to hear. They'd given him the truth instead. He was going to be a while digesting that.


	25. Chapter 25

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

This took longer than it should have. However, my Dungeon Master called last weekend – for the first time since October! – and wanted to play! Harlie was delighted to get a chance to bite someone again so I didn't get any writing done! (_You_ try telling a dragon she can't bite someone and see how much writing YOU get done!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The _Eisenhower_'s shuttle bumped heavily in the upper atmosphere. Kayla Grayhawk automatically swayed with the movement, feet braced against the rests on the deck below the seat ahead of hers. They would be landing in under an hour now. She would be home. How odd that sounded, home. She hadn't been home, really home, since three months after she'd enlisted.

The rest of the people aboard the shuttle, a mix of exchanged POW's, the 'million dollar wounded' who would be getting automatic medical discharges, and the group rescued by the Clyne Faction, were generally in pretty high spirits. She however, was in a very ambivalent state of mind indeed.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go home. She hadn't seen her family in far too long. But she was getting further and further from Adrian by the second and she didn't want that at all. This getting pulled two incompatible ways was a pain.

It had started to get tough when she'd watched the _Magellan_'s shuttle leave the _Kusanagi_. That was when she understood in her heart as well as her head that she'd let him leave. Suddenly, she was alone in a way she'd never been before in her whole life. Not even on the battlefield had she ever been this kind of isolated. But then, she'd never been half of a whole before either.

When the men of the Alliance Fleet that Cagalli had rescued with Athrun and Kira's help had come over from the _Archangel_, she'd been able to fall back on the reputation of the despised 'Tomahawk' name. They'd assumed she'd been a VIP prisoner and that was why she wasn't on any list Intelligence had, since ZAFT sometimes used their VIP pow's as surprise barter chips when they needed to. Their confidence in the strength of their fleet made it easy for them to believe in a story of a brief local command panic on a Plant that had given her an opportunity to escape as well. They had all been very proud of her.

The story held up surprisingly soundly when she repeated it to the debriefing officers on board the _Eisenhower_ as well. Either they wanted to believe in it or it fit in with some pattern they had from other sources. Whichever it was, they gave her no impression at all that they had any serious doubts about it, and she was looking very carefully for just such doubts. Maybe it was being open about the Ito Project that had done it. They all seemed to know it existed.

When they sent her down to Medical for a check-up, she caught a bit of luck she could never have arranged for if she'd planned it months in advance. The Doctor she was sent to was an old family friend, Lucian Two Bird. He spotted her condition almost at once.

They talked for a long time. Lucian ran a whole batch of not-really-necessary tests, one after another, so they had a reason to just sit around and chat while the results came back. Anyone listening would have heard two old friends discussing the past and other old friends. What they really talked about was the babies and their father.

Two Bird didn't approve of her decision. But he allowed that it was hers to make. When she promised him she would go home and let her grandmothers help her with the whole mess, he agreed to help her get that far. His medical report was a very in-depth item with a single vital omission; he did not mention that she was over two months pregnant.

Moreover, he told her how to make sure she got to another sympathetic doctor on the base she was going to. Apparently she wasn't the first young woman to come home in this condition who wanted to keep the child. It seemed there was a very secret network within the military medical departments that was vehemently pro-life and dedicated to helping any girl who wanted to avoid being forced to abort, regulations or no regulations. It had deeply religious roots, which was no surprise, so he also advised her on a couple of simple behaviors to use to catch their eyes in case she was getting shunted in the wrong direction. And he gave her an equally simple necklace, a kind of red flag for any of the network that she'd been seen and approved by another in the network.

Kayla studied the necklace in her hand with grudging admiration. It really was a clever bit of work. If you didn't look very closely at it, it would appear to be a stock tourist 'Indian' mandela with metal feathers depending from it. If you took a second look however, you might notice the arms of the mandela actually formed a cross, with a subtly spaced top and bottom that left the four quarters unevenly divided. That same second look might also notice the tiny teardrops on the ends of each feather. It was the least obvious piece of Christian symbolism she'd ever seen.

She had the window seat at the very back of the shuttle, letting her watch the planet grow ever closer. All around her, people were beginning to celebrate their return to Earth. Lucian Two Bird had advised her there would be someone from the network on this shuttle. It was time for her to make herself a bit more obvious to them.

So while others took their happiness in cheerful noise, Kayla sat back in the seat and pretended to pray, the necklace in her hands. No one disturbed her. Apparently this was considered a very appropriate thing to do if you didn't want to be standing in the aisle cheering. She kept it up right until they were all advised to prepare for final approach and landing.

Arrival at the terminal was just like every other such arrival she'd ever been part of when there were wounded aboard. Medical swarmed the ship as soon as the doors cracked open to remove those who were either serious cases or who couldn't walk on their own. Everyone else either took themselves off if uninjured or was assigned a medic if they were. With her arm still in a sling and her ribs still taped, Kayla knew there would be someone told off to help her.

"Lieutenant Grayhawk?"

She looked over to find a pleasant faced, middle aged woman with a nurse's pins and friendly brown eyes smiling at her. Yes, here was her escort. One glance at her right hand and she smiled herself. The nurse was wearing a small ring, a teardrop with a cross in it, that was the visual sign she'd been told to look for on landing. She dropped her necklace over her head, let it rest on her jacket just long enough for the woman to see, then tucked it away.

"Yes, I'm Lieutenant Grayhawk."

"Referred by Dr. Lucian Two Bird, I see." She was looking at the file in her hand with a small frown.

"Correct."

"That's a bit unusual."

Two Bird had warned her about that too. He didn't really approve of the lengths the network went to in it's – in his opinion – blind determination to save all babies regardless of the health of either the fetus or the mother. Anyone coming in with a voucher from him would need a secondary reason for his having given the help.

"Dr. Two Bird is an old friend of my family's. The Grayhawk and Two Bird grazing leases have run side by side on the public grasslands for the last three generations." Kayla said calmly.

The nurse was clearly a bit confused. "Grazing leases?"

She grinned. "We both raise sheep. Been trading fine merino genetics back and forth for fifty years now. Dr. Two Bird understands the value of good stock and prime lambs."

Understanding dawned. "I see. I always knew there was more to him than an expertise with blast burns."

"Oh yeah." Kayla agreed feelingly. "He was the only doctor who could reach the ranch when my youngest sister was born. Mom had serious problems with Alys's birth. Both my grandmothers were out of state at an inter-tribal conference so Mom had no one at home who could help when Alys decided to come early. I damn near killed two horses riding through that storm to reach the Two Bird place 'cause nothing with wheels was going to be using our roads! He rode back on the most attitudinal but surefooted mule I've ever known. Wretched thing got him there in time, Dr. Lucian saved them both."

"Your family values children I take it?"

Right, now she had to sell herself to these people as someone worthy of their help too. They were taking real risks here, the service wasn't kind to people who outright disobeyed standing orders like these folks did. Dr. Lucian had warned her she was going to need to convince them she was properly child-oriented. She wondered how one did that in one fast conversation and hoped she'd come up with a good answer.

"I have, well had before the war started, nine brothers and four sisters. Yeah, we're big on kids. Dad comes from a family of nine, Mom from a family of eleven. Last I heard, every married aunt and uncle had at least five apiece and they were still counting. My Aunt Sue holds the current record. She and Uncle Miles have saddled me with seventeen cousins; including two sets of identical twins and one set of triplets."

"Oh my! That's quite a family!" The nurse was leading her up the ramp and into the shuttleport proper now. "Do you ever plan to have a large family yourself?"

"Adrian, my fiancée, and I are hoping for a large family, yes. He lost most of his to this war. He's the only surviving son. We'd like to make the family name a bit more secure." Well, that part was true, and probably the last full truth she'd be able to tell here.

She noted the woman's covert glance at her engagement ring, which she'd very, very carefully dirtied some to cut the brilliance of the stones to something that didn't grab quite so much attention. "How lovely and thoughtful! Are you planning a Christmas wedding?"

Oh, and now she was going to have to lie like a rug! "That's going to depend on the peace negotiations and when he can muster out. The service still discourages women officers from marrying enlisted personnel you know."

The nurse, she still didn't know the woman's name, interesting that she'd somehow misplaced her nametag today, just nodded sagely. "Yes, they never seem to raise half the fuss if the officer is male now do they?"

"Nope."

They shared a look that did not say good things about the men at the top of the military. Then they were in the main disembarkation area and the usual process of returning to the planet began. The nurse stayed with her for the entire dull deal until she reached the base hospital.

Because she was coming home as an escaped prisoner of war and not as a regular soldier on rotation, there were extra steps in the process. They took finger and retinal prints to verify her identity. There was also an hour of debriefing on her initial capture; she told no more lies than she absolutely had to there but at no point did she mention the _Archangel_, the Freedom, or Adrian's name. The first was 'that Eighth Fleet ship', the second was 'a strange new mobile suit' and the last was 'the GINN's pilot'. She got no feeling that anyone listening, and there were three across the table and at least five more behind the curtain that she could hear moving about, was suspicious or that they thought she should know any more than she told them.

But when she mentioned the Cyclops, she knew she had made them very unhappy. Ok, well, given the propaganda footage she'd seen while up in the Plants, there officially hadn't been any Cyclops now had there? Fortunately, what she'd said could be restated a few minutes later as something that _looked_ like a Cyclops. That wasn't a whole lot better but it did give the senior Captain a chance to point out that there was no such bomb at the JOSH-A site.

Right, no Cyclops at JOSH-A. And she'd never been to the Plants either then. But Kayla managed not to be quite stupid enough to say that out loud.

She took her cue from that sledgehammer of a hint and omitted any more references to the Cyclops from her report. In fact, she omitted any and all commentary that could be construed as even slightly critical of the senior site command of JOSH-A from the rest of the report. The story, as she told it, became the heroic defense overwhelmed by superior numbers that the propagandists wanted. The only thing she wouldn't give them was a cowardly _Archangel_ turning tail. Instead, she gave them a story of a desperate last stand and a last second warning of impending doom from the new mobile suit that had sent _everybody_ running, ZAFT and Alliance alike. It wasn't real popular but it was better received than the word 'Cyclops' had been. The whole thing left a very bitter taste in her mouth. The only thing missing was someone giving the Blue Cosmos tagline about the 'blue and pure world'.

She was sent straight on the hospital after that. The nurse, who never did give her any name at all, took her in and saw to it she was signed in to see a Dr. Summers. The woman stuck around until the doctor's own nurse came to collect her. Kayla noted this girl too wore one of the cross-in-a-teardrop rings. So, she was accepted and being passed on inside the pro-life group.

It didn't take her long to decide she really, really didn't like Dr. Summers. The man had the cold eyes of a fanatic. Worse, he made it pretty plain he saw her as no more than a delivery system for the children she carried. He didn't even ask if she wanted to know the child's gender or how many there were. He was not pleased that there was no husband to discuss the kid's future with and he refused to do so with her. He spoke of 'the baby' in the singular and always as 'he'. Kayla was absolutely positive that if she hadn't had an engagement ring, he would have refused to help her.

It went against everything in her nature, but he was the only secure doctor she knew of. So she swallowed her pride and her temper to behave like a little mouse, doing exactly what he told her to and asking no extra questions after the first few were coldly rebuffed. She needed this son of a bitch and he knew it. Fortunately, he was a moralizer, not a letch. She had to put up with his sermons but that was as far as it went.

At least he was professionally competent. His assessment of her ribs and arm matched Dr. Two Bird's. She was going to be stuck with the ribs bound for a few more days but the splint-cast was going to be there for another two and a half weeks. He also gave her a brief list of foods to avoid at this stage in the pregnancy, told her to memorize it and destroy it. She obeyed, reciting it back to him several different times over the course of the examination before he was satisfied she really could remember it. The list of things she should add to her diet was much longer and safe to keep on hand.

Dr. Summers turned her loose eventually. By this time the folder she'd started to build at the shuttleport was gaining weight. She didn't even need to check her list to know what was next. She needed new uniforms and other clothing, personal care items and several other small things regulations called for. All of this could be obtained eventually, but only by going through Personnel to reestablish herself as an active duty member of the military. Besides, she was going to need to buy some things and all her back pay was tied up there.

Personnel was sheer boredom. Well, that and nearly mindless repetition of filling out what honestly felt like dozens of copies of the same form. It took her nearly three hours to get it all done. Truth be told, she was amazed she'd gotten through so quickly.

Still, by the time she was ready to leave she was back on the active duty roster, had a billet assigned, a mess assigned, a week's worth of debriefings on her time up in the Plants scheduled, and the majority of her uniform and other needs ordered for delivery to her new billet. If you knew the system, and she did, you could actually use it to accomplish something. Kayla stopped by her new mess for a late lunch before going over to her new quarters.

Air Wing chow hadn't noticeably improved while she'd been gone. It was eatable and that was about it. After the meals at the Ito Project, an Alliance mess hall was a real dump. The _Archangel_ had a military cook and they'd done decent food too. What was it about mess halls that seemed to bring all meals down to a universally dismal level?

Her new quarters were in the women's BOQ adjacent to the hospital. From what the duty officer said, Kayla gathered they had been expecting more wounded survivors from Second Jachin Due than they'd seen. Well, Genesis had changed a lot of expectations there. The room assigned to her was a double on the first floor. She had no roommate, few in the massive and largely empty building did.

The supplies and new uniforms had arrived before she did. Although she wasn't supposed to, she took her arm out of its sling to use both hands as she carefully stowed things away. She just shook her head as she realized they'd sent over not only three daily wear uniforms but a dress uniform as well. So someone had something planned did they? She could only wonder what it was.

The full dress uniform was identical in cut and styling to a regular uniform. The colors however were all much more intense. The gray was a deep pearl and the white portions shone as though super-bleached. The collar colors and shoulder bands were just as intensified. Someone had noted her personal preference and had sent the version with trousers instead of the stupid skirt. They had even included that idiotic dirk that was part of Wing Command's idea of how to get dressed up. Just because the Marines still had their dress swords, why did some fool think pilots needed fancy long knives?

But it was the three lines of ribbons on the left breast of the dress jacket that brought her to a stop. She slowly sank into the chair by the window, holding the jacket as she studied those ribbons. They forced her to confront what she was intending to do as nothing else had, or could. She ran a hesitant finger over them.

The oldest was the campaign ribbon from the Garibaldi Front. She barely deserved that one. Third Moebius had been sent up as replacements for some outfit that campaign had chewed up and spit out. She'd been a green ensign then, greener than spring grass. And Mu La Flaga hadn't yet earned the nickname 'Hawk of Endymion'. That wasn't going to happen for a couple more weeks.

He'd come over to their mess and tried to teach them how to survive. Not many of them had had the brains to listen to him. Captain Gerber sure didn't. She wasn't sure why she had. Maybe because what he was saying made too much sense to ignore. He taught her the tricks of survival up there in those two brief weeks between arrival and the detonation of the other Cyclops below Endymion crater.

Come to think of it, that had been something of a betrayal by their own people too. Damned Cyclops! Damned bastards who used them!

Each ribbon commemorated battles fought and friends lost. Each one also represented enemies killed. All of those fights were to protect her people, her world. She'd done so with honor! She had! No matter what her leaders had or had not done, she had fought with honor. Her service, her skills, they were given to defend and protect her family and her home!

She reached the newest of the ribbons. This one she didn't recognize. But the note with the uniform had explained it. This was issued exclusively to the survivors of JOSH-A.

Her mouth twisted bitterly. What was her honor worth? What had she been serving really? She knew with all her heart what she _thought_ she'd served. She knew to the bottom of her soul what she wanted to believe she'd served.

But she knew what really happened at JOSH-A as well.

To marry the man of her heart was to turn her back on everything in her past. Her home, her family, her world. It would invalidate the service she'd given to them. This had looked so simple up on the _Archangel_ with Adrian beside her! She stared at the uniform jacket in her hands and acknowledged how far from simple it really was.


	26. Chapter 26

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

All right, second weekend chapter finished. Mind you, this is a stupid hour of the morning to be up writing, but it is done.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The recording ended and the lights came up. This was the third time through for some, at least second for everyone. The details were clearer this time as the shock was over now and they could all pay much closer attention.

"Madam Chairman, has this been verified?"

Eileen Canaver smiled grimly. "Oh yes, Councilor Elsman. The recording itself is quite genuine. Just where aboard the _Archangel_ it was made is not certain but it _was_ made there and the two people you have been watching are beyond question Captain Murrue Ramius of that ship and Colonel Ledonir Kisaka of the _Kusanagi_. It is impossible to date it exactly by internal evidence but it was made at least three weeks ago, well before the destruction of Boaz."

"Is it Junk Guild information?" Elsman demanded to know.

"Again, it's impossible to prove one way or the other. The wrecked two man ship it came off of is a Junk Guild craft. That much we can prove and that much they agree to. But the recording, no, we can prove nothing with it. Our analysis of the materials and the recording methods are inconclusive. Everything is too readily commercially available. It could have been made by a talented college student. And as all know, the Guild's specialty is collecting the detritus of the universe to sort for useful items for resale. They could have found it somewhere. And it was discovered in a cargo space, not in the ships small safe. We can prove the data is real, we can prove nothing about the media it came to us on."

"Then, my son, he isn't really guilty of actual treason." Tad Elsman said very slowly.

"No, he isn't." The Interim Chairman replied calmly. "Questionable judgment at times yes, but not treason."

She leaned back and sighed unhappily. "Nor, would it appear, is Athrun Zala a traitor. A very, very unhappy young man with an exceptionally emotionally damaged response to his father, but not actually a traitor."

"He destroyed Genesis!" Several Councilors shouted that in near unison.

"Yes? You would prefer the late Chairman had actually managed to fire on the Earth and forever destroyed both the Naturals and us?" Eileen demanded icily. "You've all seen the genetic data from the Ito Project and you've all seen the reports that support it from our other leading geneticists. If that weapon had fired and eliminated the human population of Earth as Patrick wished, we would have followed them into oblivion in three generations. Period! Athrun Zala, whatever his motives, saved us all from extinction!"

Her eyes swept around the council table, catching each and every member briefly. "I would also remind you that all the evidence we have very plainly shows us he never went over to the Earth Forces. He did join his former fiancée and her people, but never the Earth Forces. And Lacus Clyne never led her people against the Plants. Against the Council, yes, but never against the Plants. Athrun Zala is no traitor. But he is a divisive element we can not permit to return either."

"Pardon and exile?" Councilor Amalfi asked heavily.

"I'm afraid so." She replied sadly. "It is a terrible thing to do really. The Zala boy has a potential we can really ill afford to lose. But if we discard Athrun, public opinion will be much more receptive to greater pardons for those whose offenses are so much lighter. We lose one and gain back dozens. Each will have to be reviewed individually of course but with his case for a measure, all others should be much better off."

Eileen sat back wearily. That should get the debate rolling nicely. She glanced over at Ezaria Joule. The silver-haired woman was keeping her silence. Dr. Ito's data had been a shattering revelation for her. She believed wholeheartedly in Patrick's vision of a Coordinator's world, free of Naturals and the dangers they posed. Just as well that she didn't know of the small but growing population among the Naturals who were so gene-cleansed they could almost rival Coordinators. That really would have her going about in paranoid circles!

When were they going to have time to take up that issue? She didn't know. It couldn't be ignored forever though. That group might be small now but it was likely to grow rapidly. Those people would be frighteningly fertile and if the policy was deliberate in a family, it would spread with each new generation at a much faster rate than the growth of the more normal Natural population did.

The issue was going to have to wait. What they had on the table now was going to have to take priority. First get their own wayward children home safely and legally. Set up a peace that would last a while. Then it would be possible to worry about a potentially dangerous genetic group down on the planet below them.

The Interim Chairman leaned forward to listen intently as Tad Elsman began to outline a plan for a pardon for Athrun Zala. Well, well, he had taken her hints the other day to heart. There was nothing spur of the moment or half done in this no matter how he tried to make it sound like it. She kept the smile off her face as she listened. Oh, yes, this would work. And after this, it would make forgiving Dearka Elsman a rather simple matter too. She almost snorted aloud. And some thought Tad wasn't clever!

* * *

Adrian sat in the antechamber outside the Board of Inquiry trying to be patient. Yuri was wilting in the chair beside him. Their interviews were over. For all their anticipation and nerves, they had been mere formalities. However, Captain Thoms had been in there over two hours now with no word at all coming out of those closed doors.

He heard a small sigh and glanced over to see Yuri settling bonelessly into the chair, asleep at last. He sighed himself. At least his friend wasn't so gnawed with worry that he couldn't rest. Or maybe he'd just exhausted himself. Either way, the fidgeting would stop now.

Perhaps twenty minutes later, the sound of a door opening brought him up with a snap but it was not the right door. Instead, Commander Yzak Joule stepped silently out of the second Inquiry boardroom. Adrian eyed him uncertainly. Joule was just standing there, eyes down and hands fisted. That was the Inquiry for Dearka Elsman and his friend's stance didn't look promising.

"Commander?" He asked quietly.

Joule's angry blue eyes stabbed at him. "What Ito?"

Adrian was suddenly pissed. "You aren't the only friend Dearka has, Joule!"

The silver head turned back, hiding the eyes behind the fall of the hair again. "I'm aware of that."

"Then talk to me, damn it!"

For a long minute, Adrian didn't think he would. Then Yzak tipped his head back to glare at the ceiling. He was tense as an over-wound spring but although he was angry, he wasn't in the kind of rage a seriously negative result should have triggered.

"Why did he ever listen to that damn Zala? Even if he was fighting the Earth Forces, why off _that_ deck? We were supposed to sink the legged ship, not join her! I don't care if she had turned against them by then! What was he thinking to fight alongside _those_ people?"

"Oh." Adrian nodded slowly. "The Board of Inquiry didn't like that eh? Stupid idiots! The _Archangel_ wasn't an enemy any longer! She'd chosen to be something damn close to an ally. Her pilots, especially Freedom's pilot, saved all the Plants from the nuclear attack! Why are they blaming Dearka for helping them do that?"

"You don't have any more brains than Athrun!" Joule shouted, jarring Yuri back to wakefulness. "What kind of idiots are you two? The legged ship is not an ally!"

"_Archangel_ isn't exactly an enemy anymore either, Commander." Yuri noted quietly before Adrian could say anything he'd never be able to take back. "They haven't been one since Alaska, when their own people threw them away. Besides, unless I got the story wrong, Dearka didn't even consider the idea until the Battle of Aube, when the Alliance attacked and the _Archangel_ stood against them to defend the Aube because that was the right thing to do."

Joule's angry eyes glared at the wounded man. "You're nuts too, got that Lubbek? A ZAFT Elite has no business fighting alongside the legged ship, period. No excuses!"

"The Commander is respectfully requested to go soak his head." Adrian snapped. "Only a complete imbecile turns down that much help in a shooting war. _They_ had the brains to ask for Dearka's help! Why can't you have the smarts to see how useful theirs was to us?"

"Enough Ito!" Captain Thoms order snapped through whatever retort Yzak Joule might have planned to make. "You don't tell ZAFT Commanders to soak their heads, Elite. Understand me?"

Adrian jumped to his feet and braced to attention. "Yes Sir!"

Thoms left him standing there and turned to Yzak Joule. "Has there been a decision Commander?"

The younger officer turned away. "They reinstated him but they've dropped him from the Elites. Damn it! Dearka _is_ an Elite! But the Board has decided that's the punishment for his bad judgment."

"Uhm. While I doubt either you or Dearka will appreciate my saying this, we've all gotten off lucky here. When you consider what this Board could have done, well, taking his red coat is pretty minor."

Yuri coughed and Adrian struggled to keep his face blank. Put that way, yes, they had all gotten off very lucky indeed. Still, it was a damn shame that some narrow-minded bigot had seen fit to throw Elsman out of the Elites. Mouth aside, he had both the skill and the experience that more than qualified him for the group. They were shooting themselves in the foot by discarding a talent like Dearka.

Yzak must have seen some of his thoughts in his face despite his best effort at control because his reply, although directed at Captain Thoms, spoke straight to Adrian.

"It isn't minor to me! And it means that the veterans who are left are going to have to work that much harder to pick up the load with him gone."

"Yes," Thoms flicked a sidelong glance back at him that slapped Adrian in the face, "they will won't they?"

"Leave him alone, Yzak." Dearka said quietly. "I knew what I was doing. And it came out better than I thought it would really. When I went to get the Buster from Morgenroete, I was sure I'd just signed my exile papers. In fact, I don't know why I haven't been tossed out like Zala has."

Adrian looked over to see the other pilot standing just outside the Board's door. When had he arrived there? He looked again and blinked. Someone had moved fast. Dearka was wearing a regular's green uniform instead of the familiar red. That, damn it, that looked wrong on him!

Dearka's eyes met his for a second. He saw regret and disappointment but not crushing loss. There was even relief there too.

A soft snap of the fingers drew his attention back to Captain Thoms. Lance nodded ever so slightly to Dearka, then motioned the two of them to go. Whatever was going to happen between Elsman and Joule was none of their business. As Adrian closed the door behind the remnants of the Thoms Team, Yzak was still standing silent and motionless in the middle of the room.

They were outside before Yuri asked hesitantly, "What do you think will happen to Dearka now?"

"Joule has asked for him as a Team member." Thoms replied. "I suspect that request will be honored. Both as a means of rewarding Joule for his unwavering loyalty and as a means of seeing to it Elsman has someone to keep a very sharp eye on him from now on. Their friendship is well known. It is expected that Yzak will hold Dearka on a fairly short rein to keep his friend out of trouble for the foreseeable future."

"And you sir?" Adrian asked bluntly.

"I've received a promotion to Commander. And I will be rebuilding the Thoms Team. But it will be a much larger unit this time. We lost a lot of experienced people at Jachin Due, too many of them in our mid-level leadership. So there will be promotions handed out now. For reasons known only to senior Command, I was chosen for one of them."

"If I offer congratulations, will you hit me?" Adrian asked quietly.

"No." Thoms replied. "But then, you have a promotion coming too."

Not many things could really make him trip on a smooth walkway but his commander had just found one. Adrian almost went face first to the ground. If Yuri hadn't grabbed his arm, he probably would have.

"WHAT?"

Lance stopped to wait for him to get his feet back under himself and catch up. "Yes, you heard me. I will have eight sub-teams of six mobile suits each reporting to me. As my Second, you needed a title to go with the expanded authority. I believe you will find your new papers have already arrived at our new offices, Captain Ito."

Like a total fool, Adrian blurted out the unadorned truth instead of stopping to think of a tactful way to say it. "But I don't want to be an administrative officer!"

Thoms' eyebrows rose slightly. "Did I ask you first? Did anyone? No? Then you have two choices; you say 'thank you sir' and learn to live with it or you resign. Your choice. I advise thinking it over for a few days before you actually do anything irrevocable."

"Why? Why me? I have no skills for this! I'm a mobile suit pilot!" Adrian protested.

"And you're a very good one." Lance Thoms agreed. "But that isn't something you can be for the rest of your life. You've told everyone you plan to stay in the ZAFT. If so, you need more skills than just piloting mobile suits. I believe you have the makings of a commander; with the potential to be every bit as good at that as you are as a pilot. And this is where you will start learning how to become that commander. Do you understand me?"

He wanted to say no. He wanted to refuse the promotion on the spot. But he couldn't. Because he did understand what Thoms was telling him. And it was more than one message he was being given here.

The most obvious one was that he was in the clear for any and everything that might have happened during Second Jachin Due and his stay on the _Archangel_. Since he'd gone aboard her wounded, unconscious, and with his GuAIZ so ruined he couldn't have resisted even if he had been awake, he was regarded as having been captured rather than having surrendered. Then too, he'd never actually been known to have fought beside her personnel. So he carried no black mark on his record for that either. The only people in the Plants who knew he _would_ have willingly stood with her hadn't chosen to tell the Board of Inquiry. And what wasn't known, he couldn't be held accountable for.

He was also being told Lance Thoms believed in him. That Thoms thought he was good enough to be Second in a unit that size. Thoms trusted him to learn how to do the job quickly and to do it well. Because a Second was the man who it all fell on if the Commander was killed in action.

Thirdly, he was being given a position that would offer Kayla some real protection as well. For the truth was she was not going to have the easiest time of it up here as the Natural wife of a ZAFT officer. The greater his rank and responsibilities, the less people would bother her. Yes, he really was going to have to look this gift horse over very carefully, teeth and all, before he said a final yes or no.

"Yes, sir, I'll think very carefully about this."

"You do that, Adrian. And understand this too, I specifically asked to keep you. I had a lot of other people I could have had. But I know you and I know what you can do. Moreover, I know how you take care of the people who are your responsibility. That, above all, is what I want in my Second. Just so you know why I hung this job around your neck."

He nodded slowly. "Thank you, I think."

Yuri laughed. Lance Thoms just grinned. Adrian could only sigh. He was in so much trouble now!

* * *

The last two and a half weeks had been brutal. She'd spent every waking hour either in a debriefing session, talking with a reintegration therapist, over at the hospital trying to get someone to let her out of the damned cast, or, worst of all, trying to get it through some impenetrable skulls that she was not going to reenlist. Kayla had a shrewd notion that dress uniform had been intended for a grand public announcement of her intentions to stay in Air Command. For sure no one had mentioned it since it had been included in her inventory and that was the only thing she could imagine it being useful for.

She was grateful beyond imagining to Murrue Ramius for her advice to plan out her story and stick to it like glue. It had seemed like overkill at the time but damned if the _Archangel_'s Captain hadn't known what she was talking about! Murrue had pointed out that while she and her people were going to Aube, Kayla was going back to North America, _the_ hotbed of Blue Cosmos.

"_You were months up in the Plants." Murrue told her. "They'll want all the details they can get. And they won't believe you if you tell them you can't remember. So you will need to have a story planned out to the last detail and so memorized you can recite it in your sleep. Because they may ask you then you know!"_

"_The one person above all you must never mention by name is Adrian. You tell everyone too much just by the way you say his name. Come up with an alias for him or just never give him a name at all. In fact that would be safest. If they ever have the slightest hint you've fallen in love with an enemy soldier, you will end up in prison and they will destroy the children. You must never give them that hint."_

Kayla flexed her right arm, free of the cast at last. Unless she'd made some mistake she'd not noticed, and that no one had let her see that she was making, they knew nothing of her heart. Moreover, she had a copy of her final medical report as well. Unless it lied to her instead of them, they would know nothing of the children either.

She checked the small room one last time to be sure nothing was missed. The spare uniforms were folded on the tautly made bed. She had elected to keep the dress uniform, why she wasn't sure. It was packed in the duffel with the personal items and the three changes of civilian clothing she'd bought yesterday. This was the last interview she was going to have to go through. When she was done with this one, she'd have her discharge papers and she'd be out of the service.

She picked up her cap and set it squarely on her head. The duffel went over her shoulder. She dropped the key with the duty officer and signed out of the BOQ for the last time.

Waiting at the curb was the all-weather cycle she'd also bought yesterday. It was a fifth or better hand machine but it was in excellent condition. And it was sturdy. A must for the roads it would be traveling soon. She stowed the duffel in the small luggage compartment and rode over to the Separations Office.

She arrived fifteen minutes early. Parking was simple as most who were exiting the service either drove full size vehicles or would be using mass transit. There was ample space for her cycle. She took the precaution of parking as close to a major foot traffic lane as she could and she locked the cycle and luggage compartment separately. There were people unhappy with her departure; she had no intention of giving them any easy opportunities to stop her.

Once inside, Kayla decided there was enough of a crowd here to make use of her training at being inconspicuous possible. The goal was to get in and out as quietly and smoothly as she could. Today, being ignored was pretty much a good thing.

She joined the line at the registration desk quietly. She kept her voice down when she got to the head of the line and she moved both quickly and quietly. Others in the line were much more outgoing and cheerfully noisy. Kayla moved among them rather like a ghost.

She didn't think she was really noticed much at all. Certainly she had her final interviewing officer assigned and the room noted in near record time. She slipped away from the table with her documents in hand and went in search of Room 216A. It wasn't hard to find.

Up to that point things had gone mostly as she'd planned. It was when she walked in the door that she knew there was a problem. The office was comfortably sized and reasonably appointed, with a better than average desk and a better than average chair for the person being interviewed. Those weren't the problem. The trouble was the very sharp mind clearly evident behind a pair of world-weary gray eyes.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Grayhawk." The man stood and returned her salute properly. He wore a Naval Commander's uniform. That was unusual in and of itself. Air Command personnel weren't usually seen by Navy officers. He indicated the chair and she sat quietly.

"I am Commander Ross." He informed her. "In accordance with the law, this interview will not be recorded in any way. You are free to speak your mind here and to know what you say will stay in this room."

"Yes sir. Thank you." Kayla replied blandly.

One eyebrow rose. "I see. You don't have much faith in that 'not being recorded' promise, do you?"

"I have no opinion regarding it sir."

"I would appreciate it if you didn't bother to flat out lie to me like that." Ross told her bluntly. "Silence is preferable to being lied to. Please consider that going forward from here."

"Yes sir."

Ross smiled grimly and opened the file on his desk. "I have some news for you. You have been promoted. You are now Captain Grayhawk."

Kayla blinked. This she hadn't expected. "I beg the Commander's pardon, promoted?"

He looked up, eyes suddenly keenly alive. "Oh yes. It has been decided you should have rank to match your reputation. If you were Navy instead of Air Command, you'd be a Lt. Commander like the late Mu La Flaga."

He snorted in disgust. "The lardbrains who live behind desks don't understand your kind, Captain. They believe they can buy you with this."

She took his advice and kept her mouth shut. He grinned like a shark as he realized she was going to give him the silence he'd asked for instead of lies.

"Yes, they believe they can buy you. Let me tell you what I believe, Captain." Ross leaned back, eyes narrowing as he studied her closely. "Understand before I get started, I can't prove anything I'm going to say here. Well, I probably could if I wanted to force the issue but it isn't worth it. I've met your personality type before. You do not bend. You can break, which effectively destroys any useful function you might have, but those like you don't bend. And that's why it isn't worth proving any of my suspicions. You are useless as you are now and you would be useless broken. I see no need to waste the time."

"Interesting outlook."

He smiled, a somewhat bitter but genuine expression. "So is yours. Captain, you were once a very loyal and valuable asset to the Alliance. That you no longer are is our fault much more than it is yours. You see, I've actually read all these reports on you. Unlike anyone else who has read them lately, I've paid more attention to what wasn't there than to what was. Grayhawk, you do not work for us anymore and you never will again."

She let one of her eyebrows rise at that.

Ross nodded. "Yes, I understand you. You see, I flew over the site where JOSH-A had been only a week after it was destroyed. I know what happened there. I know what is truth and what is propaganda lie. Moreover, I have a psych assessment of you done shortly after you enlisted and a new one done this week by a person whose judgment I trust. The combination of this data tells me you could not survive that treachery and continue to serve the people who did it."

Kayla sat still as a stone. This bastard was every bit as sharp as he'd looked. Well, he'd asked for silence, she'd continue to give it to him. She had no faith that there was no recording being made at all. Simple survival said she had to assume there was one.

The Commander eyed her with genuine curiosity now. "Sometime after you've been a civilian for a while, I may drop by the Double Hawk Ranch. I would like the real story of how you survived that battle and I know I don't have it here. Or say rather, I don't have all of it here. Because I do know you were captured by ZAFT and all evidence says it was at JOSH-A. So some of this is fact."

He tapped the report. "Our agents next place you in Carpentaria a few days later. You apparently came close to starting a riot on the docks. You were then rushed into a transport and immediately sent up to the Plants. Once there, we have no record of you."

Ross looked at her questioningly, inviting her to fill in the blanks. She looked back, face blank, mouth shut. He smiled coolly.

"For your information, we actually did manage to keep track of our POW's during the war. There were never all that many of them, space battles tend to be very final and neither we nor ZAFT were much inclined to take prisoners during our land exchanges. But there was one place we could never get any data from. When a POW went into the Ito Project, we lost all track of them until they came back out. You were never placed in any of the regular POW facilities. You went directly into the Ito Project, and, unlike any other woman ever taken there, you were held there over two months before you managed your own escape."

She shrugged, neither confirming nor denying his assertions.

Another quick smile tugged up the corners of his mouth. "Dr. Roland Ito is a brilliant man. The Project is a remarkable effort to save the Coordinators from themselves. If he succeeds, they will be the new species the late Chairman Zala claimed they were. But he hasn't succeeded yet. That is where you come in."

Kayla just stared at him, daring him to go on.

He took her up on it. "Dr. Ito needs very specific kinds of genetics to add to the Coordinator population. He's been helping himself to what he could find among our POW's. We know that. We also know that we can protest from now until the sun goes nova but it won't do any good. Those stolen genetics will be neither returned nor destroyed unused. Which brings me to your medical records since you escaped."

"You've seen some very interesting people in your brief time back, Captain." He flipped through several files slowly. "Dr. Two Bird appears to be an old family friend. It would explain why something so fundamental is missing from his report. However, the rest of the people you've seen are all members of a highly organized and equally illegal network that specialized in 'saving babies', any and all babies, regardless of the health of fetus or mother. The conclusions are obvious. You're pregnant. The father is a Coordinator and so is the child."

"A woman who makes a choice like yours is almost certainly fond of the father." Ross remarked quietly. "No Natural who has chosen a Coordinator partner is going to remain in the Earth Forces military. She can't afford to. Add that to your response to treachery and there is no question of any chance that you'd reenlist."

"You are correct, I will not reenlist." Kayla said calmly.

Commander Ross shook his head. "Very well. Then I will wish you luck, Captain. Unlike some, I believe you've earned the right to choose your own path in life. The one you've elected won't be easy. Being a Natural in the Plants will be about as difficult as being a Coordinator is here."

She'd been listening and watching the man. His conclusions were so accurate he had to have a mole in the medical group at the very least. But some of the rest of it now, the viewpoint was off somehow. There had been something just not quite right from the beginning. Then he'd spoken about being a Natural in the Plants and suddenly she knew. It was insane but it made sense. The question was why?

"You're a Coordinator, aren't you Commander?" Kayla asked.

His head came up and he stared hard at her.

"Yeah, you are." She nodded. "You've got those very clear eyes."

He shook his head. "No, I'm not the Coordinator."

"If you aren't, you're damn close." Kayla told him flatly. "Half-blood maybe?"

The smile this time was odd. "Very good. Not accurate but still, very good."

"A Coordinator can reproduce with another Coordinator by natural means," she said slowly, "but the resulting children will vary widely in their abilities. Some will even fall into the range of 'Natural'. That's what Dr. Ito told me. Looks like the old goat knew what he was talking about."

"A very knowledgeable man." The Commander agreed.

She eyed him for several minutes before asking. "So now what?"

"Now, Captain, you take your discharge papers and leave the service. I advise you also leave the base and go at least twenty miles before you stop to change clothes. Your decision is not popular with some very influential folks. There is no record of this interview. Believe me, if there were, you would have just given me cause to get rid of it."

"Why?"

He had no trouble interpreting that question. "Because I want to. I have a foot in both camps, Captain. I have brothers fighting on both sides. And I dislike the lies told about Alaska. Then too, I'm not at war with unborn children, any unborn child."

Ross suddenly added dryly, "I hope the father is worth the risks you've taken for him."

"I think so." Kayla replied simply, then asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes, we will do a bit of playacting at the door. There is recording equipment active on the other side. That's why there is a damper plate in the door, so no one can read anything off the vibrations of the door itself."

He stood. "By the way, here are your new pins. You should probably put them on before you go."

She took the box he held out. Sure enough, it held two pair of Air Command Captain's pins. One set was for an everyday uniform, the other for a dress uniform. So he hadn't been joking when he spoke of this new rank being someone's idea of a bribe. Stupid, ignorant bastards!

She exchanged the Lieutenants' pins for the new Captains set. Commander Ross gave her another of his odd smiles as he handed over her discharge papers. Those went immediately into the nearly indestructible sleeve she'd brought for them. She sealed them in too. Only then did he accompany her to the door.

Once outside the office, she turned and saluted. He returned it, then offered his hand. Kayla took it.

"I regret you have such heavy family commitments Captain." He said briskly, reminding her of the 'playacting' they were supposed to do. "You could have had an outstanding career in the service."

She shook her head in apparent regret. "Unfortunately it just isn't possible. However, I have several brothers and sisters who have elected to make the military their life's work, Commander. The Grayhawk name will be well represented. But someone has to go home to help my parents with the ranch and I'm nominated."

He smiled. "I see. Well, good luck."

"Thank you sir."

They exchanged a final round of salutes and she marched off smartly. He'd advised leaving quickly and going a good way before stopping. She'd take that advice. With her papers to hand, she had no trouble at the main gate. Fifteen minutes after leaving the Commander's office, Kayla Grayhawk was on the open road rolling north for Colorado and a sheep ranch tucked hard against a mountain. She took with her a lot of questions about one naval Commander as well.


	27. Chapter 27

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Update! And yes, the story does have an end and it will get there eventually.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Adrian leaned back in his chair, trying to work a kink out of his shoulders. He hadn't really appreciated what eight sub-teams of six mobile suits was going to mean in terms of personnel, space, materials or much of anything else required. The old Thoms Team had two six-suit sub-teams and had occupied a single hanger. They'd shared supply storage and logistic personnel with two other such teams.

The new Thoms Team was bigger than that old arrangement all by itself. They had their own supply officer and he had a clerk. They had a pay clerk. Commander Thoms had his own clerk/secretary for heavens sake! They had two paramedics. They had forty-eight pilots and mobile suits. Those mobile suits required a hundred and five maintenance personnel of various types. They were spread across four hangers. The Team had nine different ground vehicles permanently assigned to them and they had drivers and mechanics of their own. They even had their own support shuttle and two mechanics rated to fly it. All in all, the new Team had over two hundred men and women on the rolls. Every one of them had to be fed, properly uniformed, and housed on top of all the rest of their needs - a thought that reminded him they needed a plumber for the NCO quarters women's shower. He tacked one more to-do note to his screen.

It was daunting and somewhat depressing. While he'd gotten to the point where he recognized every face now, he still didn't associate about half the names yet. He missed the intimacy of the old Team of a dozen pilots and less than twenty mechanics. They hadn't had to worry about all these other support people then. They'd shared them with other Teams but they didn't belong to their group. Now they did. And they were all his responsibility.

He was neck deep in training schedules at the moment. None of their new sub-teams were established groups. They were all made up of a mix of surviving veterans and newly graduated cadets from the training schools. While he appreciated the level of trust it represented, he could have done with a better ratio than half and half in that mix too.

The only cure for inexperience was getting the teams out in their mobile suits on a regular basis and putting them through both combat exercises and the unending delights of patrol duty. They had rotated once through what was euphemistically called 'reclamation duty' but what it really amounted to was battlefield pickup. He was actually glad that had happened so early in the Team's formation. Complaints about patrolling could be met with a suggestion of reassignment back to reclamation and that would shut the complainer up for at least a week!

The sound of the office door creaking open gave him an excuse to stay in pause mode a bit longer. Then Yuri Lubbek came striding in with yet more file discs in his arms. Adrian just shut his eyes. Maybe if he didn't look, they'd all go into Commander Thoms' office for a change.

"Not looking won't make these go away you know." Yuri told him with disgusting cheerfulness.

"I have a place you can put them, Lieutenant." He replied suggestively.

"The Commander already knows these are here. Putting them there won't get you out of reviewing them and you'd only have to clean them before you did." His friend replied with a wicked laugh.

"There are days when I really don't like you very well." Adrian groused.

"Yes, I know." The ex-pilot grabbed a handy chair and flopped into it. "But this time, I'm actually here to help. Hand over those schedules and I'll beat them into submission. You need to go through these files and make some decisions on final sub-team assignments. The only rule Lance said to give you was keep the teams even in vets and rookies."

He nodded and pushed the screen he'd been working on around so Yuri could use it. He still wasn't sure why the other had elected to stay in the ZAFT. The lost eye had meant he was never going to be going out in a mobile suit again and Adrian hadn't expected desk work to appeal to him. Yet here he was, acting basically as Lance Thoms' aide and a backup for Adrian. The eye-patch was largely hidden by the hematite hair but it was something he was always aware of even if Yuri himself didn't seem to be bothered by it anymore.

"Oh, and we have one last new rookie." Yuri said quietly.

He looked up, alerted by the tone. "Yes? Did we get saddled with someone's problem child?"

"That depends on how you look at it. I doubt most would consider an Elite pilot, even a green one, a problem child."

"I'm not most people." Adrian noted dryly. "What's the catch here?"

"He's Voril Joule, Yzak's cousin. Well, some kind of cousin, I don't know how close the actual relationship is."

"Yzak's cousin? What did we do to deserve that? Not that I have anything against this kid himself but, hell, who needs Yzak playing mother hen?"

Yuri winced. "Be fair, Adrian. We don't know he's going to be anything like that about this guy."

"I beg your pardon? Are you listening to what you're saying? Excuse me, this is Yzak we're talking about. The original control freak from hell. No, I'm not interested in taking the chance. Look into getting him transferred to his cousin's command."

There was an indistinct mutter from the other side of the desk.

"I didn't hear you." Adrian sang warningly.

"I said; Voril's pulled every string he could to keep himself out of his cousin's outfit. Some of those strings are very big ropes. I don't think we can transfer him out. You aren't the only one who doesn't want Yzak Joule breathing down his neck. He's been transferred at least a dozen times already. Everyone else has been warned by now. I don't think we can come up with a viable reason to move him on."

He just shut his eyes. "Fine, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to telling _Commander_ Joule to butt out of the Thoms Team! And I thought suggesting he go soak his head got me in trouble."

Yuri smiled weakly and shrugged. Adrian could only wonder what god he'd offended this week. Which ever one it was, they definitely knew how to get even with him! This Voril kid damned well better be worth all the problems he was bringing with him!

* * *

Kayla went nearly two hundred miles before she made her first stop. Even then, it wasn't at any standard wayside. Instead, she pulled off the main road onto a dirt side road and went a mile up that to a blind canyon she knew from hunting trips with cousins years ago.

There was a small spring with good water here and a deep overhang that hid her from observation from above. She pulled her gear off the bike. Packing had been a matter of setting up to leave, not to travel, when she'd done it last night and this morning. Now she needed to do some rearranging.

First things first. She changed out of her uniform into much less noticeable civilian jeans and a heavy plaid flannel shirt. She also pulled on the warm sheepskin jacket, boots and gloves she'd picked up to go with her civilian clothes. It was late October now. There was snow in the high country even if it hadn't fallen here yet and the air was crisp. The discarded uniform packed neatly atop the dress uniform in the bottom of the duffel.

She stowed the duffel on the back seat of the cycle and secured it with the safety belt. This left room in the luggage space to arrange her camping gear for a quick set-up tonight. Kayla pretty much had what she needed really but she could use an extra blanket. More to the point, she could use the gossip she could pick up at old Charlie Yellow Dog's ramshackle combination of general store and pawn shop. But Charlie's place was another hundred plus miles up the road. So she didn't linger when she had everything reset on the bike and the water bottles refilled. Despite the time she knew she'd lose there, she was hoping to get well past Yellow Dog's store before she stopped for the night.

The run was depressing. This part of the country had never been strong economically. The war had damn near ruined it. Without inexpensive nuclear energy, a lot of the small technical business that had been spreading out here had collapsed or been forced to move back closer to their supply base. Unemployment, always the bane of the First Nations, had clearly come roaring in like a summer thunderhead and hung on like a ten-year drought. The once busy small towns she remembered along the highway had a lot of empty storefronts and no few empty houses that had held businesses and families when she'd left for the service. She noted bitterly that the healthiest businesses in a lot of places seemed to be the bars.

It was a relief to crest the ridge and drop into the small basin of Four Cottonwoods Creek. Charlie's was close now, up in the heavy stand of trees on the high side of the waterway. As she rolled up, Kayla noted Charlie was bucking the regional trend. The place had gotten a coat of paint within the last year, all sections painted the same color this time. There was a good, new sign out front as well. And the cars in the lot, while not all that numerous, were mostly late models and sporting out-of-state plates.

She nodded to herself sadly. Yeah, the pawn business was booming wasn't it? And if Charlie could afford to redo the old place like this, he wasn't getting the usual hat bands and watches with the odd belt thrown in anymore. Nor would those be bringing the kind of buyers who would drive the sorts of cars parked here.

No, this kind of buyer was looking for collectibles, maybe even for museum pieces. So that meant people were being forced to sell their heritage to survive. Well, better through Charlie than damn near anyone else for a couple hundred miles around. He'd see to it they got a fair price for their loss. It still hurt to know these things were going to collectors and vultures who saw them only as items of status based on price, who did not know or care about the history or the cultural significance of what they were buying. She parked the cycle near the main door and went in.

She stopped five steps inside the door. The paint and sign outside in no way prepared her for the makeover inside. The old pawnshop used to be rather badly lit everywhere but in the display cases themselves. The walls, with their haphazard shelving, hadn't been painted since the Apollo moon shots. And the uneven floors were a physical danger to the unwary. Not only would they trip you, they'd fill you full of splinters when you hit them.

Things had changed. New paint in a warm cream covered the walls. The shelving was neatly laid out and solidly built. The floors were even and sealed under a heavy layer of what looked like a clear polymer, offering good traction and nothing to stick into a knee that might accidentally touch it. The lighting was excellent and indirect. Comfortable and almost shadowless, it illuminated every nook and cranny of the place. And nothing was out where it could be touched or lifted. All the shelves were behind locked plexi panels and the floor displays were inside secured cases.

The security was open and heavy. What she could see, and she had the training to see a lot more than the tourists did, would be more than enough to prevent petty theft. She also knew there was more she didn't see. Then too, Charlie had his own ideas regarding crime prevention that his insurance company probably hadn't a clue about. She could see his Spirit guardians sitting here and there. Stealing from a shaman of his caliber would be even dumber than stealing from someone with this kind of commercial security.

The contents of the shop more than justified the money spent on the security. For she'd been right about the heritage of the First Nations being on sale here. Some of the items she flinched from. You had to be insane to buy some of the medicine things here! Not all of them were friendly by _any_ means!

But the baskets, the jewelry, the beadwork, the leather-crafts, the stone carvings, the dolls and the old, old weapons, those were safe. And what Charlie had here was more than any museum could boast. She was no expert but even she knew many of these things were centuries old. A look in a case reassured her that they were priced like it too!

"Kayla? Kayla Grayhawk?" A harsh voice called in surprise.

She turned to look. There, waving at her from behind the counter, was old Charlie himself! He was grinning like a fool and displaying his contempt for his dentures by not wearing them. He didn't look any different from the last time she'd seen him. The ice-white hair was still thick, long, and worn in two braids for the tourists. If he'd picked up any more wrinkles, she couldn't spot them in among the collection he already had. The black eyes were sharp as ever. She'd swear he was wearing the same sky blue shirt too.

"Charlie!" She cried. "What happened to my favorite dump?"

He threw his head back and cackled like a dying chicken. "What, ya lose yer sight out there in space? I've gone and got respectable, ya fool girl! Who'd ever a thought it at my age? Got fancy folk from all over the planet coming here to buy from me nowadays!"

The old man called someone she didn't recognize over to run the register and hustled her through the shop and into his living quarters in the back. This space hadn't changed nearly as much. It was still cluttered, smelled of old things kept in dusty boxes, and still had the stuffed roadrunner and Gila monster smack in the middle of what was supposed to be the dining room table.

"Sit! Sit! I haven't seen ya in a dog's years! How ya been keepin' girl? How's yer Pa and everyone up to the Double Hawk?"

He shoved a plate of cookies of questionable vintage at her as she evicted a small mountain of newspapers from a chair in order to have a place to sit. He slapped down a large, clean mug in front of her and filled it with coffee. Kayla, familiar with Charlie's coffee, scavenged the sugar and a spoon off the table.

"I've been off-planet until just these last few weeks." She told him. "I haven't even gotten home yet, have no idea how things are at the ranch. I was kinda hoping you'd know. I just mustered out today."

Keen dark eyes studied her. "Ya don't say. Outta the service are ya? And ya ain't called home once since ya landed eh?"

He took a long drink of his own coffee. "Must be one right damn interestin' story ya got to tell."

Kayla shrugged. "Not so much really."

Charlie snorted. "Yer an ace, Kayla. Got a name people know all over the North Atlantic Federation and some beyond. Ya can't tell me Tomahawk walked out after a thirty month enlistment without a damn overpowerin' reason."

She drank Charlie's coffee and smiled grimly. The coffee was a lot like the answer she had for him; too bitter for any sugar to fix. At least he'd understand.

"Yeah, there're reasons." She stared into the dark liquid in the mug. "Let me tell you what _really_ happened in Alaska a few months ago."

Charlie Yellow Dog listened without comment as Kayla dumped a load of anger and grief she hadn't realized was anywhere near that big. He had his 'talking bones' out long before she was done, tossing and reading them as she spoke. She had no idea what they were telling him.

The old shaman was a good listener. His silence and occasional cocked head drew details out of her she'd never intended to give. Indeed, she didn't even notice how much she was saying as the time flew by. Eventually the flood of words ran dry and she just stopped. He refilled her mug with fresh coffee and handed her a one pound box of sugar for it.

"Quite a story," Charlie said quietly, "that's really quite a story, girl."

"Yeah, well, I'm telling you what happened. Whatever you got from the news guys is a lie." She said savagely.

"Oh, I don't doubt it for a second." He replied calmly. "Had a couple other vets come through here these last few weeks. They told stories a lot like yer's. Known those boys since they was in diapers too. All three of ya're good kids, honest kids. I could doubt one, question two, but three now, nah, that pretty much clinches it. 'Specially since there ain't been one single aerial shot of the place at all since it happened. Not one."

Kayla's smile held all the humor of a hungry shark's. "They won't show one. They can't. A Cyclops leaves a very distinctive pattern behind. The proof of their treachery will be written on the Alaskan soil for hundreds of years."

"Unless," she added cynically, "they landscape it away."

"That'll show too." Charlie noted shrewdly.

She sighed. "Yeah, but they can lie about it and no one looking at the landscaping will know any better."

The old man just grinned crookedly. "Kayla girl, that kinda lie never stays hidden. It always comes back to bite the liar in the ass. These Blue Cosmos fellas, they'll get theirs. That kind always does. The pain is in the waiting for their turn to roll 'round."

"Got that right!" She muttered angrily

"So, ya wanna tell me about him?"

"Eh?" The change in topic caught her off guard.

Charlie sighed. "The ZAFT boy, Kayla. The one ya been dancin' 'round all through this. The boy who's scrambled yer brain for ya. And don't be telling me there is no ZAFT boy either! I'm ninety-four; I've seen this kinda thing a time or two before. And I've known ya all yer life. Ya ain't hidin' anything from me. Lemme tell ya, ya ain't gonna hide him from your grandmothers either. Now, ya just tell me, who is this boy and how did he ever scramble up someone as sensible as ya are? And while yer at that, ya might tell me when the baby's due."

She wondered why she bothered trying. Evading the Elders had never worked. Why had she wasted the time going through the motions one more time? Especially when talking to a shaman like Charlie!

"Well, according to _his_ grandfather, its pheromones." She began irritably. "Now that annoying old goat is a genius and an expert in his field so he may be right but it's a very deflating explanation."

Charlie Yellow Dog stared at her, then just laughed.

It was long past dark when she got back on her bike. Charlie had the full story out of her after all, despite her intention to tell no one the details. She'd even gotten out the pictures she had of Adrian and showed them to him. He approved of the 'book of poses' she had supposedly collected for her artist aunt. She'd introduced him to several other people through those pictures as well. He was interested in them all but Adrian, Kira and Athrun really caught his eye. He did a good deal of bone rolling while looking at their pictures. She wished she knew what those bones were telling him but he wasn't sharing that.

Well, at least not with her. He had promised he would call the ranch. So both Grandmother Grayhawk and Grandmother Spotted Horse were going to get an earful from Charlie. She wasn't going to have any secrets there. She could only hope they wouldn't tell Mom or Dad about Adrian. There were four fewer in the family now because of ZAFT; he wasn't going to be popular with her parents. She wanted to get to see how things stood at home before she mentioned anything about him.

She did know Charlie'd decided he approved of Adrian Ito. She knew that because he'd packed her a box while she'd been over in the general store section getting the blanket she'd wanted. He told her it was his wedding present to them and she absolutely was not to open it before hand. The only clue he gave her was a comment that a warrior should look like one. The box was quite heavy. At least he hadn't pulled anything off the shop shelves for it. She wasn't sure she could have handled knowing he was packing up that much history. It did leave her wondering though just what a Ute shaman thought appropriate for a mostly Oriental Coordinator ZAFT Elite mobile suit pilot. In mulling over that question, she forgot that Charlie Yellow Dog also regarded her as a warrior as well.

* * *

"Serin! Ha! Where are you woman?"

"At my desk, Roland." Serin's voice came calmly from the intercom.

"Got a message! Says 'The harbor is clear, returning to dock.'"

There was silence for several seconds before her voice came thoughtfully. "So the Atlantic Federation really has left Aube. I'm surprised. They've gone with much less work than I was expecting it to take."

Roland Ito nodded in agreement, forgetting for a moment that the intercom had no vid-plate. "Makes you wonder what they're up to doesn't it?"

"More to the point, it makes me wonder who they've been making deals with." She replied, still very thoughtful. "Remember, there is evidence that the mobile suit program at Heliopolis was a largely private venture in cooperation with Morgenroete. There's a power vacuum in Aube with the Lion dead. His daughter is the presumed heiress but she's only sixteen. That will look very young and usable to some. I know she expects to go home and pick up her father's mantle, just as he wished, but I'm not sure she's ready to manage professional politicians decades her senior. Her brother will stand with her but Kira Yamato, while a lethal mobile suit pilot, is a gentle-hearted political ignoramus. He won't be much real help with them."

"Athrun Zala will." Roland noted. "That boy grew up drowned in politics. He has a very clear and experienced sight for backroom deals trying to pretend to public respectability. Moreover, he cares for her. He'll watch over her interests with a wary eye."

"I know." She sounded troubled. "But that may be a problem. She knows his regard. She may see his advice as jealousy of others."

The geneticist drummed slow fingers on his desk as he considered his daughter-in-law's comment. She had a very good point there. The Athha girl was something of a wild child and very prone to think she knew best. Her headstrong attitude was not going to be appreciated by the men and women used to her father's subtle cunning. It was an attitude a smart manipulator could direct as well. Unfortunately, there would be no major player left in Aube politics who wasn't smart. Working either with or against the Lion would have already winnowed out the fools and idiots.

Serin was likely right about how much help Cagalli would accept from Athrun as well. He didn't know what arrangements they'd come to between the two of them but he knew it would have put the girl in charge and the boy in the subordinate place. Sixteen was young, damn it! And she was following her father, the famed Lion. There would be insecurities and fears of appearing anything less than in complete charge getting in the way. Her intense dislike of having to accept advice that challenged her perceptions was well known. This would also limit how much help anyone was going to be able to give her. And the most limited of all would probably be the one she loved but could not let lead her, Athrun Zala.

"Roland," Serin interrupted his train of thought. "We need an ally. I know we won't find anyone there who would consider the interest of the Plants as we would like but we need whatever honest help from Aube we can get. Lacus Clyne is no fool despite her looks and often simple manners. She still seems to think well of the Plants even though she hasn't much use for the Council. She'll be able to reach Cagalli and Athrun and she knows how to gather information while seeming to be doing nothing of the kind."

"We can not involve Lacus." He said sharply. "She's someone Dee will be watching very closely. Kira Yamato is also off the list for the same reason; he's too close to her. And if the man should ever realize who and what Yamato is, he will become a target in his own right. No, leave those two out of your plans. Quite aside from the dangers to them, consider what happens if he were to track any such communication back to us!"

"Point taken." She conceded. "However, we still need an ally, or better yet, several."

"Yes, I know." He growled. "We need an inconspicuous pipeline for those allies too. We've been a bit too open here lately. Because we needed to make sure we got Adrian and young Thoms home with rank and honor intact, we let ourselves touch the very top ring of Plant politics. It is possible we managed not to be noticed but only a fool would bet the future on it. It would take nothing more than one pair of sharp eyes or a carelessly casual tongue to place us at that Council office with Miranda. If Dee hears of it, he will have us watched. He knows how little I think of his views on genetic predestination."

"Indeed? Why would he bother? You've kept out of his way for the last eighteen years. Why would he feel the need to check up on an issue that old?"

"Because he's not a fool." Roland replied evenly. "He's no more forgotten our last meeting than I have. I promised him if he ever reached for that kind of power, the power to dictate my family's future, I would cut him down like a dog. He believed me then. I don't think he would doubt it now."

The intercom was quiet for several minutes, then Serin replied irritably, "It would have been nice to know about this months ago. There are things I would have done very differently."

He shrugged at the box again. Serin knew him very well. She didn't need to see him to know how he'd respond to her. She hissed once to vent her frustration, knowing there was nothing else to do now.

"So be it. The past can't be changed. Our allies then will have to be connected elsewhere. Lance Thoms is unusable; Dee knows his mother too well. It will have to be people who would have reason to know and communicate with Adrian and Kayla. We have no other options open to us right now. Kayla's background with the Earth Forces will serve us quite well in this. Not even Dee will expect her to sever all ties with home, family, and old comrades."

He nodded slowly, understanding where she was going with this. "Yes, and the friends she's going to have to keep closest touch with will be those in Aube."

"Who can relay messages to and from family and other friends in places where she is no longer welcomed." Serin agreed.

"Can you speak to Captain Ramius? I have a feeling my talking to her would not go well." He asked, his mind beginning to lay out new possibilities.

"I can and will. There are a few others I will try to reach as well. The more legitimate contacts Dee has to look at, the less intent his focus on any one of them will be."

"Do that. And don't tell me who they are either. This may come down to plausible deniability at some point. I want to be able to deny with the best of 'em. I'll see about chatting with some folks that I may not mention to you for the same reason. Between us, we many be able to keep a real eye on Earth yet."

"Earth yes." Serin said slowly. "But what kind of eye can we keep on our own leadership without running into trouble with Dee?"

"For that we'll depend on Miranda." Roland stared at the wall without seeing it. "She's been a part of Plant politics longer than Dee's been alive. He'll expect her to continue as always. Since she's always known when to step back as well, he won't be surprised when she does as he moves forward. In fact, he'd only become suspicious if she vanished too soon or too completely."

"Understood. Now, excuse me please. If they are going in to dock, I need to reach people rather quickly."

"Eh, you and me both." He muttered as he reached for his comm.


	28. Chapter 28

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Homecoming! Yes, yes! Interpersonal relationships! Very frank Grandmothers! (Ye gods! The things Maria Spotted Horse will just come right out and _say_!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The road north out of Cortez was deteriorating, a victim of the shattered regional economy. There were parts of it where it was smoother riding to have the bike than it would have been in a car. Through those sections, Kayla wove her way back and forth across her lane and the shoulder as she dodged potholes and odd rocks that had made their way onto the pavement.

She'd already been two days on this trip; a run she'd made in one long day when she'd left home going the other way thirty months ago. Both nights had been spent hidden in tiny blind canyons under stony overhangs. Where there was this much poverty, her bike was a fortune on wheels. She camped dark and cold with rock between her and every vantage point she could manage. There was no point in asking for trouble when you were a girl alone and already three months plus pregnant.

The last stop for fuel had put a pair of pickups on her tail. She hadn't bothered to count the occupants, more that two was too many and there were definitely more than two. She'd ridden four extra hours into the night to lose them. If she hadn't known a couple back roads that cut miles off the main route, she might not have. But they'd assumed she was a stranger and hadn't realized what she'd done. Even that might not have worked if the road hadn't been in such bad shape that the bike made better time on the side road than the trucks did on the main highway.

She'd spotted them again at a wayside just east of Cortez. They'd run past her in the night. At least one of the guys had noticed her but she was already on the road and going almost too fast for the conditions when she passed their camp. If they did try to follow, she'd not seen them. And she had done the short cut trick at least once more to buy herself a bigger lead as well as to get high enough to look over her back trail.

Now she was on her own home ground. Unless they were also local, she could lose them if they tried to follow her again. The cycle climbed gracefully over one last sandstone ridge, then she was heading down, into the broad valley of the Rio del Oro del Mentiroso. She could see the town in the distance although she wouldn't be going quite that far.

The Double Hawk Ranch was on the east side of the river, sparing her the need to go into Oro Mentiroso itself. Given what she'd seen on the way up, she honestly didn't want to. She remembered a thriving if small stock town. She didn't want that memory replaced by a reality as bitter as those she'd already gone by. Still, she did pause when she turned off on the East Fork Road to take a look.

From this distance, not quite a mile, things didn't look much different. Only the rather substantial pile of gravel just below the bridge was really that different. She couldn't figure out what that was all about so she dug her field glasses out of the road kit to take a better look.

Well, it still looked like a pile of gravel. But a check along the riverbank itself showed her a very long, low, rickety looking wooden structure of some sort. It was when she realized that there was water running in it that she understood what it was. She put the glasses down in blank shock. A placer chute? What idiot had built that?

Things had to be fairly serious in town for the board to approve something that nuts. Rio del Oro del Mentiroso translated from the Spanish as Liar's Gold River. The town had first been settled by gullible fools who bought shares in a non-existent gold mine that was supposed to be here. When they realized that, the would-be miners tried sifting the riverbed for the bright metal. But the river had never produced viable amounts of gold for anyone but that first con artist who'd sold the city plots.

Oh, there was some gold there. Sitting on a sand bank in the river with a gold pan and sunshade was a standard summer pastime for all the local kids. But any day that got you more than a trace of 'color' in your pan was an exceptional one. There was a small plastic pill bottle hidden in the hollow leg of her brass bed up at the ranch that held perhaps three ounces of glittering 'dust', the accumulation of a lifetime of summer days on that river.

The odd nugget turned up from time to time too. Her oldest brother, Paul, had found one. He'd had it set in a ring he wore constantly. But that ring and its gold were smeared across the moon now not far from Endymion Crater; along with the rest of Paul and his mobile armor on that day when he tried too hard to be a second Mu La Flaga.

She sighed once and turned the cycle up the road for home. The family would know the story of the placer chute, she'd ask them. One thing was clear from the size of the gravel pile. Whoever was working the placer was serious about at least trying to make it pay.

The East Fork Road hadn't been more than hard-packed gravel when she'd left and it wasn't now. But the signs of neglect and lack of money evident on all the road system so far were here too. The spring thaw had sent a lot of water over the road as always. This year, no one had come along behind the weather to patch the potholes and washes. Only the very worst of them were filled in enough to let a vehicle through. The bike was doing all right but she wondered if the school bus could even get up here any more. If not, how were the Hopewell, Jackson, Whitebird, and Kluge kids getting to school?

The twin peaks of Broken Knob and Shattered Rock loomed ever closer as she made her way steadily northwards. They weren't impressive by Rockies standards but they were big enough and they were home. She was somewhat surprised how happy she was to see them both once again. She'd missed them more than she'd known.

The San Juan Forest and Grassland ran along the east side of the road now for the next sixty-one miles. It jumped the road to run to the Oro just beyond the Kluge ranch. But up until then, the land on the west side was all private. The ranches of her life-long neighbors were laid out like beads strung along this road.

The first of them was the Rockbell place. They ran a smallish herd of purebred Normandy cattle and sold leather, meat, and diary products from their own farm store. The red and white Normandy were a rare breed and the snob appeal of that had kept the Rockbells in business for fifty years. She was relieved to see the familiar cattle still occupying the land. At least one ranch was holding its own here.

Llamas and alpacas still grazed on the Hopewell's spread. Jacobs, Shetland, and California Red sheep occupied the pastures of the Whitebird land. But they were fewer now and shared the space with what looked like Hampshires. So, the specialty wool market wouldn't support the place like it used to and they'd been forced to add a meat flock.

The name was gone at the Jackson's gate. The mailbox leaned drunkenly and the pastures were empty. There was a weather-beaten realtor's sign nailed to the uprights. Kayla wasn't surprised. They'd had a run of bad luck just before the war and hadn't been in any shape to withstand an economic collapse. The horse business ran in streaks anyway and when Jerry had bet on golden bay as the coming color for the show circuit and lost, he'd pretty much doomed the operation.

Pop had warned him not to buy his own stud but he was tired of the cost of stallion fees and sure of his choice. The stallion he bought threw the foals he wanted; he got that much right. Too bad the market wasn't interested.

But it wasn't until she pulled up alongside the Two Bird pastures that she seriously studied the flocks inside the fences. The Two Bird and Grayhawk sheep operations had been sharing genetics for three generations now, not all of those genetics belonging to sheep either. If the Two Bird flocks were thriving, the Grayhawks should be too.

The sheep in these pastures, like the ones at home, were Merino. The Merino breed boasted the finest diameter wool of all sheep, which meant it was the softest and could often be worn by people allergic to other wools. It was the basis for the top of the line of the armed service's winter underwear, it was that soft and that warm. Other wools might see demand rise and fall but the special characteristics of Merino had made it almost immune from the usual market fluctuations.

What Kayla saw reassured her. The flocks would all be down from the high country by now so this should be all of them. And there were a lot of sheep visible from the road. The dominate color was white of course since that took dye cleanly and gave clear colors in return. But the preference for naturally grown color meant there was a lot of it in these pastures too. The moorits, all the varied shades of brown and gold, were the largest group. Grays from deep charcoal to silver were the second biggest color block. The Two Birds even had some of the genetically engineered reds. But their odd bad luck with black was still with them as she didn't see any true black animals anywhere.

It didn't really matter. What counted was the health and size of the flocks. Those told her the Two Bird Ranch was doing well. And since Two Bird and Grayhawk sold in the same market, the Double Hawk should be fine as well. She leaned on a fence post, trembling slightly with relief.

She should have just called home. Then she'd have known and wouldn't have put herself through this. But if she had, there'd have been all those questions. She knew she'd never have gotten her folks off the phone without answering at least some of them. And she couldn't afford to, not when she'd have had to call from the base. No, shaky as she was right how, it had been the right decision at the time.

Kayla realized she was still leaning on the same fence post. The shakes were subsiding but they weren't vanishing. She knew why. She knew it was related to the same fear that had kept her off the phone. Only this time it wasn't the military she was afraid of. This time, she admitted to herself, it was what her family was going to say.

She was two miles from home and she still didn't know what to tell them or how to say it. 'Hi Mom, Pop. I quit Air Command because I fell in love with a ZAFT Elite pilot and we're expecting twins around April' was probably not the way to do it. Factual, fast, but real stupid. Dropping hints about moving to the Plants was just about as bright.

Damn it! Why'd Yamato have to be so f'ing right? Someone was going to get hurt here no matter what she did. This was her _family_ damn it! They weren't people she wanted to hurt!

For the first time since she'd handed Adrian Ito her heart and accepted his in return, Kayla was right up against the no-win moment. She slowly turned and sat down, using the post as a back support now. Her heart rate was terrible and she didn't want to think of what this was doing to her blood pressure. She wanted to scream and she needed to cry. **How did you make a choice like _this_**?

She could see him, sitting on that stupid stool in the _Archangel_'s infirmary that night. A Coordinator wearing Earth Forces blue. A sweet boy with eyes that had looked into hell and come out whole again. Kira Yamato, pilot of the Freedom and one of the wisest people she'd ever met. Was that what Charlie had seen when he'd looked at the pictures and rolled the talking bones?

"_That obvious eh?" She'd sighed. "Yeah, there's commitment all right. But there's no good way to make it work._"

"_No, there isn't. Someone is going to be mad no matter what you decide. And no matter the choice, the other option will always sit in the back of your mind and leave you with questions for the rest of your life. All you can do is go with the one you discover you have to. It's the only way to live with the other one; ultimately knowing the one you picked was the only one you could live with." He'd told her, nightmares and survival in his own gentle violet eyes._

"But Kira, I don't know which one is the only one!" She cried. "And I can't figure out how to tell! You didn't tell me that part of it!"

"No one can tell you that, Soaring Hawk Woman." A soft, old voice said quietly. "Each person finds that answer for themselves. It is not something that anyone else can share with you or do for you. Only you will _know_ when you have found it. Only you will see the one path that leads to a future. Your friend Kira can not answer your question, only his own."

But he could advise, couldn't he? And he had. She remembered that very clearly too.

"_How the hell do you deal with this?" She asked him._

"_You don't try to do it by yourself. I have my sister, Athrun, my friends and Lacus Clyne. I couldn't face this alone. Don't you try it either. Some loads are just more than one can carry by themselves."_

No, that was not for how to find the answer at all. That was how to survive looking for it. Yeah, don't go doing this alone. But Adrian wasn't here. Who would help her now?

There was a small snort. "What am I, Kayla, sheep pellets?"

She jerked up sharply. That wasn't a voice in her head! Standing beside her cycle, holding the reins of her ancient Medicine Hat paint stallion's hackamore, was her Grandmother Spotted Horse. The old medicine woman looked down at her, one eyebrow lifted in disdainful question.

She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Grandmother waited patiently. She tried again but had no more success. Grandmother just shook her head.

"Charlie was right. You are messed up. First thing I'm gonna do when I meet that ZAFT boy of yours is slap his face 'round to the back of his skull! What the hell did he think he was doing? Didn't it occur to him to sit and make sure you were all right before he let you leave? Or were the two of you such complete fools you thought all you had to do was fall in love for everything to work itself out?"

"Damn it Gran! We didn't plan any of this! It just happened!" She jumped to her feet as though she'd just sat on a cactus. "One day he's the enemy and the next I want him more than anything else in the universe! It made no sense! It still makes no sense! But I do want him! He's _my_ Coordinator! _Mine_!"

The ancient, sea-green eyes stared back at her. "No missy, he is not 'your Coordinator'."

"Oh yes he is." Kayla was startled by the dangerous tone in her voice.

Her Grandmother just laughed grimly. "Oh no, that's not what he is! You need to get that straight right now. Forget the issue of Natural and Coordinator, Kayla. If you chose that one, it can never be allowed to come up between you again. No, he's not your Coordinator, young lady, he's your _man_! Considering where you've let him go and the condition you're in, I'd say he's a functional one too."

For a moment, she didn't think about that, she just responded. "Well, yes, I should hope so! If you're gonna grab your ram outta the enemy's flock, you damn well better grab the best one! One that can't throw lambs would be pretty useless, right?"

Maria Spotted Horse threw her head back and roared with laughter. Kayla suddenly realized just what she'd said. Oh for the love of all things holy and a bunch of stuff that wasn't! Gran was going to think she'd gone around up there testing them all! She turned a brilliant red, or so she judged just by the heat in her face, and curled up in a ball balanced on her heels with her arms wrapped around her knees.

It took the old woman several minutes to recover. She'd laughed hard enough to give herself a stitch in her side. She stood there, trying to rub it out, just shaking her head at her embarrassed granddaughter.

"Oh, my, can throw lambs!" She chuckled.

"It wasn't like that!" Kayla moaned.

"Like what? Don't tell me you think I'd take you for someone idiot enough to just sample whatever came to hand?" Maria demanded. "You were raised better and smarter than that! No, I'm quite sure you only tried out the one, ah, ram! Charlie says he's one of their very pretty boys too. I think one of the big reasons Blue Cosmos hates them so is because they've chosen to breed for those delicate, large eyed looks that grab women's interest and then they turn out to be damn strong and quite virile to go with it! Face it, most girls I know would rather look at the pretty ZAFT boys than the homely mutts who run with Blue Cosmos. A fair old number wouldn't mind trying their paces long before they'd let the Cosmos dogs close either! Nothing like coming in a very late second in the sexual contest to incite a little honest hate."

"_Grandmother_!" She shrieked.

"What? You think just 'cause I'm older'n Charlie that I've gone blind? You know better! You've seen your Grandfather's pictures! He'd have given most of the ZAFT a run for its money in his day! He was a damn good foundation sire too!"

Good God! How could she be having this conversation with her own GRANDMOTHER of all people! 'Course she was right about Grandfather Spotted Horse being better looking than most of ZAFT, but that was beside the point! Adrian was at least as handsome and he hadn't wasted any time getting her pregnant either! Yah! What was she _thinking_ now?

"Twins, Charlie said?"

Kayla nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment.

"Child, does he really want children?" The question was asked gently, all the banter of moments before gone now.

"Yes, desperately." She whispered. "They all died Gran. His whole family, they died on Junius Seven. All he has left is this crazy old coot of a genius of a grandfather and a mother I haven't met. He's so alone! He had an older brother he really admired and a younger sister he loved. You can tell from how he talks about him that he was close to his Pop. And now, there's no one really."

She looked up. "All through the war, he had Teammates but almost no friends. They died too fast you see. I understand that one. I had the same problem. There were two on the Team he let close to him. One died at Alaska. The other lost an eye but he came through the war. So that's what he's got. Yuri, Captain Thoms, me. I haven't told him I'm pregnant. I didn't dare. I don't think he'd have let me leave the Plants if he'd known. All his plans for the future, they involve children, a lot of children. He so wants to be a father. And I want to be the mother of those children."

"I see." The old woman held out a sinewy hand. "Well, then things will have to be taken as they come until you are sure of your path. In the mean time, your mother has dinner on the stove. It'll stretch to cover one more plate. You're the first one home. The others will be trickling in over the next few weeks until we have everyone together for Thanksgiving."

"Gran, did Charlie tell Mom or Pop about Adrian?" It was suddenly vital to know who knew what.

"Nope. First Kay did that. She figured, and I had to agree, that it would come better from us than it would from you. Howard is furious. We'll hope the boy doesn't show up in the next few days 'cause your Pop would likely shoot him dead at the moment. Janet, she's not happy about it. But she isn't in the same kind of warpaint your Pop is. Both of them blame the boy. You should just let the noise roll over you for the next week or so because you won't be able to defend him to either of them for a bit."

Kayla accepted her grandmother's hand and stood without really needing the help. It was pretty clear things were going to be unpleasant for a while. The question was how long and would the unpleasantness end or would she just have to walk out.

"Gran, he asked and I said yes. I want you to know that."

She found herself facing those sea-green eyes again. "He actually asked? Either he's damn well brought up or you had him pretty sure you'd remove something he valued if he wasn't polite."

"Well, it was the way he kissed me." Kayla admitted. "It was very clear what he wanted and that I got to chose."

The old woman swung herself lightly onto her horse and gathered the reins. "And just what did you tell him?"

"Ah, after a bunch of silly stuff about his being my Coordinator and my being his Natural you mean?"

"I suppose that would be the place. Since I wasn't there, you'll have to tell me if it is or isn't you know."

She pulled her safety helmet on and kicked the cycle's quiet engine over. "There was something about him moving his stuff in and that it was ok with me if the kids were Coordinators like him."

Maria Spotted Horse just looked down at her. "All right, now give me the punch line you're so carefully avoiding."

"I told him to get the uniform outta my way." She admitted.

The medicine woman laughed. "Oh, I see he obeyed that order!"

"Yeah," was all she said, a wide smile on her face at the memory.

They rode back to the Double Hawk Ranch in companionable silence. Kayla pulled the latch gate shut behind her grandmother so she didn't need to worry about getting the old horse to turn tightly enough to reach it. She herself just rode across the cattle guard that kept the stock inside the fence without any need for large swing gates at the road. It was a slow trip down the familiar road as she matched the pace of the weary horse.

Then the road came out of the last cut and the house was ahead of them. The large log structure sprawled against the trees below a seventy foot cliff on the very edge of Broken Knob itself. Only a few lights were on at this hour but then, with only Alys and Todd home, there wouldn't be many needed anyway. She parked the cycle in the garage and just left it. She could unload later.

Kayla suddenly ran up the steps to the door. She wanted to see her parents right now! Alys threw the door open with her twin and Grandmother Grayhawk right behind her and all of them met her on the porch. She was grabbed in her father's bear hug and her mother was holding them both. She burst into tears. Yes, she was _home_!


	29. Chapter 29

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

And now someone learns people have been withholding vital information from him.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Adrian yawned. It had been a long, dull patrol before they'd all reboarded the _Gagarin_ to return to the Plant. This was good in some ways, he wasn't interested in trouble and anything not dull generally involved trouble. It was not as good from a training standpoint as dull tended to blunt reactions, especially those of the rookie pilots. They had a dangerous tendency to get in the bad habit of taking dull for granted when it happened too often.

Still, he was pleased with his sub-team. They'd done a thorough job in the section assigned to them. Everything not instantly identifiable had been noted and checked. Considering they were on the far edge of the Second Jachin Due battlefield, there had been rather more of those objects than he'd been expecting. It was pretty clear that the debris field was expanding faster than anticipated. Patrol zones were going to have to be stretched to cover it before long. All that material was going to have to be collected and gotten out of the shipping lanes after all. Adrian wasn't looking forward to more rounds of 'reclamation duty' either.

For today though, their job was done. A fairly heavy jar announced the final docking of their transport with the harbor for Aprilius One Mobile Suit Base Prime. The four sub-teams from the Thoms Team were the last to board, they would be first off. Adrian positioned his GINN by the hatch to observe his people as they disembarked.

One could tell a good deal about the overall state of an individual pilot by how they handled their machine when they were tired. Even the best could get careless when coming in off eight hours of uninspired patrol. But today there was no carelessness, no missteps, no close calls with ground personnel. He was pleased; the Team was shaking down very, very well for just seven weeks together.

He was especially happy with Voril Joule. The younger Elite was definitely _not_ his cousin. He was a cheerful, surprisingly even-tempered young man with a truly wicked sense of humor. The veteran's fears of Yzak however had made him very hard to partner. After four of them had turned him down and two who had agreed to try hadn't worked, Adrian had simply taken Joule as his own wingman. The rookie he'd had in that position wasn't happy with the extra responsibilities that went with being the Second's wing. When he'd traded with Voril's last discontented partner, four pilots ended up much happier and the Team much more stable.

It was a relief to turn the GINN over to the mechanics and head for the locker room. He needed a shower badly after being in that flight suit so long. He actually managed to get the shower and almost completely dressed before anything interrupted him. It was his wing who stuck his head in the locker room looking for him.

"Captain," there was an unusual seriousness in the silver-haired pilot. "You might want to listen to this story Chen Lu is telling right now."

"Which one is it?" Adrian asked as he fastened the white belt over his red coat.

"He's claiming he and some sixty other cadets defended the Plants from the nukes on the first day of Second Jachin Due under the leadership of an Earth Forces officer!"

Ito looked up, mildly surprised. "You haven't heard that one yet?"

Voril's deep gray eyes opened very wide. "He's made that insane claim before?"

"He's reported the incident before." The Second corrected. "The story, weird as it is, happens to be true. Go listen, you'll find it interesting."

"An _Earth Forces_ officer was defending the Plants? From their own nukes?"

"That's correct." Adrian waved Joule out the door. "Go and listen! Chen was really there. In fact, he was functionally her Second!"

Voril whipped back out the door immediately. Adrian just grinned at the closing door. Chen liked that tale. It was actually surprising Voril hadn't heard it already, considering how often Lu told it. He followed his shocked wingman out the door, curious to hear what details Chen was going to remember to throw in this time. Each time he told it, there was something new to hear. Eventually of course, he'd remember it all and there wouldn't be any new tidbits. Until then, it was worth sitting through the main story just to get the new crumbs. There had been some very useful ideas buried in how Kayla had handled those cadets. But this wasn't the day for hearing them.

"Adrian!" He turned to see Yuri bearing down on him, data slate in hand. "Lance needs this checked over and signed off ASAP so he can get in the pipeline."

He sighed quietly. One of the biggest disadvantages to being Second of a large Team like this was the never-ending administrative details it involved. With the Commander now off-base with the second half of the Team for their share of patrol duty, all these emergencies became his problem children. He took the data slate from Yuri and grabbed the nearest chair.

Fifteen minutes later, he'd made three serious and two minor corrections and signed the requisition. The Commander was trying to get them into a queue for an entirely new line of mobile suits, the ZAKU. Having read the specs, Adrian was every bit as interested as Lance Thoms in the upgrade. The new units would just about fly rings around their current GINNs. Unfortunately, every mobile suit team in the ZAFT flying GINNs had the same interest, making the competition for the limited production of the new suits fierce. As soon as he handed the slate back Yuri, as bitten with the ZAKU bug as any of them, dashed off to get it filed.

Free again, Adrian headed for the pilots lounge, hoping Chen hadn't actually finished his story yet. But luck was not on his side, the younger pilot was already working on the plate of snacks by his seat. Since he never touched them until he was done with his stories, he needed his hands for illustrating the action, it was obvious the tale itself was over. He might still be doing question and answer though and interesting things sometimes popped up there too.

The sight of Chen with his piled plate reminded Adrian he hadn't eaten for hours. Food suddenly sounded like a very good idea. So he detoured past the snack table with its load of finger foods and tasty treats. He found himself in line behind Rusty Dahl and his rookie partner, Evan Marakis.

"I just wish they'd agree and sign a peace treaty." Evan was saying as his Captain picked up a plate behind him.

"There's worse things than peace." Rusty agreed. "But we need the right kind of peace you know. I'd hate to waste all the blood and death so far on a bad one. Why are you in such a rush for a treaty? You planning to tour Earth or something?"

Marakis grinned sheepishly. "Not exactly. But it is only ten days to Thanksgiving and no treaty means another year I won't get to go to Mom's parents place and stuff my face with the best food in the universe."

"What's Thanksgiving?" Rusty asked.

"A North American holiday." Adrian told him. "Has something to do with the early European settlements. Nowadays I'm told it's pretty much an excuse to, as Evan here put it, stuff your face."

Dahl stared at his wing in shock. "You go to North America for _food_? Are you crazy?"

"No I'm not crazy! And yeah, I go to North America for my grandmother's cooking! You haven't lived until you've had her turkey and dressing! Not to mention her butterscotch pie! It isn't like we can invite them up here you know. My Natural grandparents are way too old for getting on a shuttle and taking launch g's."

"Yes you are nuts! What about Blue Cosmos? North America is dangerous you idiot!"

"Hey, my grandparents live out in the middle of a national forest. Their nearest neighbors are five kilometers away. We just go in and come out very quietly. There's never been a problem." Marakis protested.

"There's a first time for every disaster." Rusty said darkly.

Privately, Adrian agreed with Rusty. At the same time, he completely understood the desire, the outright need for many, to keep in touch with family. That the Marakis family was willing to do this, wanted to do it, despite being Coordinators and Naturals, was actually a very positive thing. He sighed softly. Someday he and Kayla would have that same problem. Part of him hoped they would be as welcomed at her family's home as the maternal Marakis grandparents had made their Coordinator grandson.

He took his plate and claimed a deeply stuffed chair in the conversation group where Chen was still holding forth. As he began to relax into it, Adrian realized just how tired he really was. This would require precautions then.

There was a tray in a pocket alongside the chair. He pulled it out and laid it over the arms to give him a place to put the plate. Normally he didn't bother. But he knew he was tired enough to run a real chance of falling asleep here in this chair. If he did that with the plate in his hands, well, dumping food in your lap was undignified and even more so when you were a Team's executive officer.

He nibbled and listened. Chen didn't seem to be covering any new ground, damn it. Oh well, couldn't win them all. He continued to listen, and eventually to drift towards sleep.

It was a question from Voril that pulled his fading attention back. "I don't understand. You just let the _Tomahawk_ escape? Why"

"Ah," Chen paused, then said something that brought Adrian right up out of sleep altogether.

"Well, that isn't what's in the official report. That says she evaded me during the last of the nuke strike and got away. I lied about that part."

"Why?" Voril demanded. "Did you do something that stupid?"

Chen Lu stared off into the distance thoughtfully. "I suppose that would depend on how you looked at it. What I did was back off and let her go."

There was a very long silence after that, then Voril remarked, "Yes, I'd call that stupid. I hope to hell there was a reason."

"Oh yeah, there was. But I doubt you'll believe that part of the story. I wouldn't if I hadn't been there." Chen replied quietly.

"What did happen?" Adrian asked, careful to keep his own voice low and the tone calm as he realized he was finally going to get the details he'd never been able to get out of Kayla.

Lu sighed then just began talking. It all came out quickly and quietly. It took no experience really to understand this had been chewing on him ever since it happened.

"It was after the battle. The nukes were all gone, the Freedom and the Justice had flown off too. We were hanging around being a last ditch insurance policy just in case any stray missile or mobile suit got past the real soldiers. I had that comm line I told you about tagged onto her machine and she was flipping through our combat frequencies, using the chatter to track how the fight was going. I was listening in with her over that line."

He looked up at the ceiling but Adrian suspected he was seeing something very different in his memory. "She finally ran across a real nasty situation. Someone, one of our people, had snapped out there. He was claiming he deserved Team command and was going to kill his remaining Teammates to be sure they couldn't stop him from getting it. The crazy was also pissed at one of the others because that guy was involved with a Natural girl. From what he said and the way he said it, I think he was jealous, that he really, really wanted that girl himself."

"What!" Voril's exclamation came out as a strangled squeak, throttled by shock before it could become a shout. "Kill his own team? Over a Natural? That's nuts! And who'd be involved with a Natural anyway? There's a war on, where'd you meet one to get involved? You're making this up!"

"No I'm not!" Chen snapped. "The crazy, name was Hobman or something like that, he really wanted to kill his own team and especially the one guy and it was about a Natural girl!"

Adrian saw Yuri slide into a free chair nearby, eyebrows going up as he recognized just what Chen Lu was telling everyone about. They exchanged a serious look. Chen knew way too much and had already said too much about it. There would be questions now, questions the Board of Inquiry had missed the first time.

"Even if he did, what does this have to do with letting Tomahawk go?" Joule asked angrily.

"Because she said she owed those guys and she was going to help them." Chen sighed. "I told her she couldn't go, that I couldn't let an Alliance officer like her just leave."

"Well, that much sounds smart." Voril agreed. "What changed?"

Chen looked straight at him. "She asked me if I'd heard the part about the one being involved with a Natural. Well, yeah I had. She said she was the Natural they were talking about and the guy the nut wanted to off was the father of her twins."

The universe came to a stop for Adrian Ito. He was vaguely aware that Chen was talking but it had no meaning for him. "The father of her twins"? Kayla was pregnant? And she hadn't told him? No, he realized, she hadn't. Because she knew he'd have done everything in his power to keep her from going back to Earth if he'd known. And she'd made it very plain she was not going to desert her own service.

Suddenly he blinked as a very important bit of data registered; how did she know she was having twins? Someone had to have told her. There was only one person that could have been. And that person hadn't said one _word_ to him since he'd come back to the Plants without her!

He sat up abruptly, knocking the tray and the plate half way across the room. He didn't notice. Nor did he notice when everyone in the room turned to stare at him as he pulled air into the very bottom of his lungs.

"GRANDFATHER!" He screamed. "WHAT THE HELL _ELSE_ DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

"Captain?" Chen asked, his voice shaken.

"Oh shit!" Yuri whispered, horrified.

He was on his feet although he didn't recall getting up. He could only point at Chen; his voice had deserted him suddenly. He did know he was shaking so hard it was difficult to stand.

Yuri Lubbek was many things but indecisive wasn't one of them. "Chen! Do you remember exactly what she said? Think hard, because it really matters!"

"I'm not sure." He faltered, staring at his wild-eyed and trembling Captain.

"Calm down for a second and think." Yuri prodded.

"Uhm, I think it was something like," he paused, then shook his head. "No, what she said was "Well, I'm the Natural he's been screwing and he's the father of my twins! Now get out of my way!" That's it, exactly as she said it!" Then Chen's eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, the crazy, he was threatening you Lt. Lubbek!"

"Yes, and Commander Thoms and Captain Ito." Yuri said quietly. "When you let Kayla leave, you saved all three of us, Chen. She came up behind the man who'd snapped and took him out almost before he knew she was there. Lt. Grayhawk can fly a GINN. Get her mad enough and she can fight in one too. It's really kind of scary what that girl can do. Especially when you consider it was a standard ZAFT machine and she's a Natural."

"I'm going to kill Grandfather." Adrian whispered, bringing his friend's eye back to him immediately as he judged the state the Second was in.

"Adrian, I'll look after the Team and explain to the Commander." Yuri said decisively, then turned to the Second's wing. "Voril, you bring the Team's command car around! You'll be driving the Captain over to the Ito Project's offices."

"Sir?" Voril Joule asked, completely lost.

"Just go get the car!" Lubbek shouted.

The younger Elite jumped to his feet and ran for the door. He stopped abruptly a few feet from it and turned back. He stared at his Captain and then at Yuri Lubbek.

"Lieutenant Lubbek," He suddenly spoke firmly and evenly. "How did Captain Ito ever become the father of the _Tomahawk_'s children?"

"Do you know what the Ito Project _is_?" Lubbek countered.

"Of course I . . . . . . ." He stopped. "Oh!"

"Get the damned car, now!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Serin hung up the phone. This was going to be remarkably ugly if she didn't keep them apart. At least the Lubbek boy had the good sense to call her before Adrian could get here! She walked quickly to the door and checked for her secretary.

"Ani, please find Dr. Sakarov for me at once. Tell her she's going to have to take over the afternoon rounds. I have a family emergency all of a sudden. It seems my son is intent on murdering his grandfather for withholding information. I think I'll be tied up the rest of the day preventing that."

"Yes Ma'am!" The startled woman reached immediately for her comm as Serin charged on out of the office.

It was going to be necessary to get Roland out of the Project for a while. If he were here, Adrian would find him. If he did that before she could get him calmed down, he really might do something he could never take back and would regret to his own dying day. The old man was a creature of habit; he should be in the reproductive lab at this hour. She headed that way at just short of a run. He wouldn't budge if she didn't tow him out in person.

Roland was exactly where she expected him to be. Unfortunately, he was in the middle of supervising a gene splice. She shook her head angrily, he was going to have to let his team complete this one without him or Adrian would be here before he was done! She barged right into the lab.

"Roland! Come with me, right now!"

He looked up, furious. "Are you mad? Get out! Whatever it is will wait!"

"Not this time!" Serin snapped. She grabbed him by the arm and hauled. He was totally unprepared for a physical assault; she was able to get him moving towards the door easily. The problem lay in keeping him moving.

"What do you think you're doing!" He howled and planted his feet to stop her.

"Believe it or not, saving your stupid life! Adrian's coming and he's ready to kill you! You didn't tell him the girl was pregnant, did you? Well he's found out somehow and he's lost control! Yuri Lubbek just called to warn me."

Her father-in-law's resistance collapsed, probably more from shock than any agreement. She didn't care as long as it made it possible to get him out of the lab. Once away from there, it would be much, much easier to convince him to leave the Project altogether.

"Serin, are you saying the fool _girl_ didn't tell him?"

He'd expected _Kayla_ to do that? Hadn't he ever read any of the analysis she'd done on that young woman? She glared at him as she dragged him toward the main doors. But the look on his face told her that no, he hadn't considered for one moment that she might not tell Adrian. Gaaahh! This idiot genius was such a fool with people! Thank God he'd left raising the children to Mai! She shuddered to think what her Donald would have been like if his father had had much to do with his upbringing!

"Of course she didn't tell him! He'd never have let her leave if she had! And she has issues of military service and family that she has to deal with before she can make any kind of life with Adrian that would last! Why do I give you assessments, Roland? You never read the damned things!"

"I read it!" He protested vehemently.

"No, you looked at the words! If you'd _read_ it you'd know she couldn't tell him and that you'd need to as soon as she was gone! He'd still have been mad but it would have been manageable. Now, well now it's been over two months and he's lost control. Where can you go for the afternoon? Because I assure you, you must, and I do mean MUST, not be here when he gets here. And he'll be here in about fifteen minutes."

"I can tell him the truth!" Roland snapped indignantly. "There isn't any lie here you know. I simply assumed the silly girl would do the reasonable thing!"

"No, _I_ can tell him the truth. You can't. He won't hear it from you. All he'll hear from you is more manipulations. You've been far too ham-fisted with him these last few years Roland. He's now trained to see conspiracy whenever you open your mouth! Get out! I don't care where you go, just go! Now! And don't come back until you've called me to be sure it's safe! Because I assure you, he's out of control right now and he will strike to hurt! He's insanely in love; do you grasp that? Go someplace where he won't see you until the insanity part wears off!"

She looked around and spotted Logan, the Project's jack-of-all-trades who was also Roland's driver. "Logan! Get the car! Fast!"

The man didn't stop to ask questions. He saw his boss being hauled along by his daughter-in-law and assumed an emergency. He turned and ran out the door. As she pushed them open, he pulled up with the car. He was out and had the door open for Dr. Ito before Roland could collect his thoughts coherently enough to speak. Serin gave him no chance to set his feet or protest; she pushed him into the door and Logan immediately stepped in and got him seated.

"Go to Miranda." Serin ordered, an idea coming to her. "He's going to go after her. He'll need clearances, documents, permission to board the diplomatic shuttle, the works. She can expedite those for us. Oh! And be sure to get the necessary papers to let her come back with him!"

"Serin, . . . ."

She gave him no time to interrupt her. "Just get the clearances! If I can tell him you've gone to do that, and you really have, it will help immensely! He may even forgive you in something less than ten years. We don't have time for arguments right now. This time, just do it my way for a change!"

"I, . . . . , all right." He finally agreed, a look of puzzlement and shock on his face as Logan closed the door.

"Logan," she said crisply, "Madam Thoms should be at her estate at this hour. Try there first. If she isn't home, the staff will be able to help Dr. Ito find her. Do not let him talk you into coming back until he's spoken with her! It is imperative that he do so. The safety of his great-grandchildren depends on this!"

The man paused, startled. "Great-grandchildren?"

"My son has chosen a wife. But there are some serious complications. However, she is already expecting twins and now we need to get her home safely. Please, get Roland to Miranda Thoms as quickly, and safely, as you can."

"Yes Ma'am!"

Logan took her at her word. The car fled the Project's compound like there were demons after it. Serin watched, nerves stretching, but Roland's car was completely out of sight before a military command car came whipping in the same drive Logan had just so precipitously departed. They'd missed each other.

Now all she had to do was manage her raging son. Serin Ito stood perfectly still as he bounded out of the car. He almost charged past her but something in her stillness caught his attention and he stopped.

She'd never seen his eyes that kind of liquid gold before. They were lit from within by a burning wrath that lay over an icy terror. So, it was fear that drove him almost more than the anger. She understood that. The girl, no, the young woman had chosen a very dangerous course when she elected to return to Alliance space over two months along with Coordinator babies.

"Where's Grandfather?" He asked hoarsely.

"Gone to see about the permits you will need to go to Earth and fetch her back." Serin replied quietly.

"Really?" Adrian asked sarcastically. "How cooperative of him. When did that disease strike?"

"When Yuri called to let me know Kayla hadn't told you about the children." She turned cool eyes on her son. "Your fool of a grandfather assumed she would. He never really reads the assessments I send him you know. He simply goes through life taking for granted that things will go as he wants them to."

"You knew?" The accusation was blistering.

"Of course." She returned as calmly as before. "She was under our medical supervision Adrian. I knew before she did."

"I can understand Grandfather's silence, but why didn't you tell me?" He asked, some of the anger draining off into pained betrayal.

"Because it was an unsupervised cross Adrian. They often fail. The data is fairly thin but even so, what we do know shows at least fifty percent of all such Coordinator/Natural embryos will fail to implant. Of those that do manage an initial implant, sixty-three percent miscarry within three months. Neither Roland nor I wanted to get your hopes up only to lose the embryos"

Now he stared at her in confusion. "But, what is this whole damned Project for then if the failure rate is so high?"

"The failure rate," Serin pointed out with a small sigh, "is for embryos produced the old fashioned way, by natural sex, without a geneticist to make sure the best egg and sperm are the ones united. In other words, the way you two did it."

He stared at her, horrified now. "You're saying we may have lost them by now?"

"Unlikely. I have the last medical reports from Dr. McIntyre. The babies were doing well and had developed properly up to that point. When they fail, there is normally evidence by then that it will happen. No, Kayla was very securely nine and a half weeks along when she left the _Kusanagi_. All evidence to that point would indicate these children would not be lost."

The emotional ride he was on abruptly dropped her son from rage and fear into depression and fear. He sank to the steps, breathing hard. Seconds later, he folded over as uncontrollable tears began to fall. In moments he was sobbing into his own knees, huddled in a tight ball.

Serin sat beside him, holding him as the fear roared through him. She pulled his head over until he toppled and was crying in her lap. It was too soon to try words again, he couldn't hear anything right now but the blood pounding in his own head and the racking sobs that he was trying unsuccessfully to suppress.

She gradually levered him up so he was leaning against her shoulder. Now she could hold him properly and still have one hand free to stroke his hair. It had always calmed him as a child. Serin had no doubts it would be as effective on the young man he'd become.

She looked past Adrian's shaking shoulders to the embarrassed and uncertain boy standing by the car. This, unless the description was completely wrong, would be his new wing, Voril Joule. It was remarkable how much he resembled his cousin. One would guess them brothers if one had no more than appearances to go on. He looked like he was going to need some reassurance before this was over as well.

She smiled gently at the boy. "Being hopelessly in love is not an easy thing. It is all the harder when they are both such independent people."

The deep gray eyes darted around, never staying on anything very long but always returning to Adrian. Oh, yes, this was something far outside this youngster's expectations. Had he imagined love was all flowers and bright laughter? Possibly, so many of them did.

"She's, ah, really, . . . ." He stumbled to a halt.

"Expecting their children? Yes."

He shook his head violently, silver hair flying as he rejected that. "No, I mean, is she, really, Earth Forces? _The_ Tomahawk of all the stories?"

"Ah," Serin looked at him understandingly, "yes she is. Adrian captured her at Alaska. He expected it to be a clinical thing, a matter of careful genetic manipulations that had no emotional factor at all. Then, they both found there was nothing clinical in how they felt about each other. It happens sometimes. It can be a blessing, or a curse. The difference is all in how the two involved let themselves see it. Adrian and Kayla wish to see a blessing. They will fight for that vision. I believe they will achieve it."

"But, she's a Natural, isn't she?"

She smiled at the confused youngster. "Oh, my! That's not what matters. What counts is that she is just as human as he is. We are kin, Voril. We all come from one genetic root stock. There was only the one available to use when they began making us after all. And this really has nothing to do with any of the issues that divide us. This, in truth, is the thing that proves we are still essentially one people. They love each other. She cares enough for him to want him for her partner, to bear his children, and to be content that they are like him instead of like her. He can see no other partner for himself or mother for his children. That's what matters between two human beings after all; its all in the caring."

"Oh." The idea was completely novel to him. Serin watched the boy try to digest it as she gently rocked her son in an effort to calm him all the faster. The hand on his hair and the slow, repetitive motion combined to gradually reach him. The sobs died away to the occasional heavy breath and the tears eventually stopped. At some point stress and exhaustion took over and he simply went to sleep.

She sent young Joule into the clinic for a team and a gurney. Adrian didn't wake when they picked him up or while he was moved through the halls. Not even being put to bed woke him. She understood his resistance to awakening much better when Voril explained that they'd just come in from many hours of patrol duty when he learned of Kayla's pregnancy.

In the end, she not only had Adrian but young Joule for an overnight guest as well. He proved impossible to pry away. This was interesting. He was far too dedicated to Adrian for so brief an acquaintance as they had. She resolved to run this surprising boy past a few tests to see just what was going on here.

But that was something for the morning. Even Roland and his triumphant return with almost all of the documentation Adrian was going to need already in hand would wait until morning. For now, Serin Ito had a comfortable chair placed in the room with her son and his wingman. She would watch them both safely through the night.


	30. Chapter 30

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Family comes with complications. The "Recover Kayla" project begins.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The wind had a rather keen edge but Kayla ignored it. The mare was warm and so was her heavy coat. She was doing all right out here with the sheep. Besides, at the moment a cold wind was better company than most of the house full of family was. She'd known her choice wasn't going to be real popular; she hadn't expected to be called vile names and accused of treason.

Hindsight was always perfect, she knew that. Still, she had to admit she'd come home with a _lot_ of rose tinting on her emotional glasses. She should have known better, damn it! Everyone had cautioned her that there would be people who just would not accept what she'd done. But she'd wanted so badly to believe her family would be the exception. She really should have paid more attention to Yamato's warning.

It hadn't been so bad with just the seven of them home. Gran and First Kay were generally pretty supportive, more so than she'd actually expected either grandmother to be really. Her parents were upset, no surprises there, but they'd been quite civil about it. Todd, her youngest brother, was just uncertain what to think. One minute he was fine with the idea, the next he was mad about it. His twin, Alys, who seemed to be cherishing romantic dreams of her own about someone from school, was a champion on her side whose fierce defense was sometimes worse than no help at all.

If it had stayed the seven of them, they would have worked it out somehow. Truth was, things were getting down to bearable by the time the others started arriving. Crystal, Richard and Douglas, the triplets, had come in first. While Richard was the most upset, the other two were fairly understanding. She'd taken that as a sign and decided everything would be fine. Bad move.

Larry had been the next through the door and everything had gone instantly to hell. The first she knew he was back was when he punched her in the face, knocked her down and tried to stomp on her stomach to kill the 'little space monsters'. Thank God Gran had been there and cracked him across the back of the skull with her cane! Pop and Doug had pulled him away before he could recover from that and she'd never let him close to her again.

But nothing shut his mouth. Larry knew every filthy thing you could call a Coordinator and he used it all; beginning when he got up in the morning and stopping only when he finally fell asleep at night. Pop had slammed him up-side the head three times before he got the idea that Mom didn't want to hear that language at the dinner table but that was the only place anyone had been able to shut him up.

It hadn't helped that his twin didn't really disagree with him. John would never use that kind of language but he wasn't pleased to find his younger sister was actually going to go through with having Coordinator kids. No one had been idiot enough yet to mention that she planned to leave and marry the father to either Larry or John. Kayla really wasn't looking forward to the reaction to that news when it did get out.

The sound of hoof beats alerted her to a visitor. The pace was a steady canter, whoever it was wasn't in a tearing hurry. Kayla waited where she was. The spot she'd chosen would let her see whoever was coming long before they saw her. She didn't trust Larry not to try something if he could slip away from the house. That was why she carried a phone with her and had Alys and both grandmothers watching him to let her know if he managed it.

But when the rider came in sight, it wasn't Larry. It was the one sib she was actually worried about, her oldest sister, Maria. Because unlike Larry, who for all his rage was just a Lieutenant, Maria was a Brigadier General in the Army. If she decided to get in the way, she had the clout to do some dangerously official things.

Maria brought her roan gelding to a stop beside Kayla's dapple gray mare. The thirty-one year old general sat quietly, just watching the sheep graze. Kayla was not fooled. She set her jaw, waiting for whatever lecture her sister had in mind. Rather to her surprise, it was a while in coming.

How'd she do it, Kayla wondered. Maria was a handsome woman, more striking than she'd been the last time her younger sister had seen her. Tall, straight, with the family's raven hair and dark bronze eyes unique to herself, she always looked like a recruiting poster when in uniform. Today she was dressed in ranch clothes and yet she was still a stunningly beauty. She was known for her patience and ability to outwait her enemies. But apparently she didn't see her sister as an enemy yet because she opened the conversation herself rather than letting time force Kayla to do it.

"Well, I've heard a bunch of paranoid prattle from Larry and a much more coherent story from First Kay." Maria said calmly. "I gather, mostly from First Kay, that you're expecting, the father's ZAFT, and the kid's a Coordinator. This fact or fiction?"

"Fact." Kayla replied shortly.

"I see." The older girl rocked comfortably back in her saddle. "Ignoring Larry's recitation of the Blue Cosmos party line since it isn't really any of his damned business, you want to tell me anything about it?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Oh, all of it naturally. But I'd say the part that matters is why."

"I'm human. I met another human. We fell in love. End of story."

"Hardly." Maria Grayhawk said dryly. "Lets start with something simple. This guy got a name? A rank? A job in the ZAFT? I know you, him I'm curious about."

"Adrian Ito, Second for the Thoms Team, Elite mobile suit pilot."

"Redcoat eh?" She pulled a small data unit out of her saddlebag and consulted it. "Interesting. Looks like your fella is one of their up and coming young officers. Recently promoted to Captain when the Thoms Team was rebuilt and greatly expanded. He seems to be considered pretty good at his job too. Picture's not great but I'd say he's got better than fair looks even for a Plant-bred Coordinator. I can see where he'd catch any woman's eye at least for a few seconds."

She put the small slate away. "But this isn't just a case of his catching your eye here. You've decided to leave your entire past, family and all, for this guy. You're serious here aren't you?"

"Damned straight I am." She looked at the saddlebag with the data slate in it. "How do you know he's been promoted? I hadn't heard anything about that and I know Lance Thoms was worried about all three of them getting shot!"

Her sister eyed her. "You know Commander Thoms well enough to call him Lance? Kayla, I want the story from you. Not second hand, from you. Now start at Alaska and don't stop until you've mustered out."

"Do you now? I'm not so sure you do. It isn't very complimentary to the Atlantic Federation after all."

"What, you think I don't know about the Cyclops? My brigade was the first on the ground after the battle Kayla. I saw the place before anyone got a chance to clean up a thing. No, I know what happened there and I know who ordered it. The bastard died at Second Jachin Due or I think the Army would have revolted and brought him up on charges. You don't sell out your own troops like that. Not if you expect them to keep on serving you that is."

Emerald gaze met bronze and bronze won. "Fine, I'll tell you. But you aren't going to like it."

"I don't have to like anything here, just understanding it is good enough."

"All right, then start by understanding this; Adrian saved my life." Kayla snapped.

When her sister simply waited patiently for her to go on, she did. The morning passed into afternoon and that to dusk before she finished. Maria never said a word. She did her probing with a raised eyebrow, a cocked head, or a skeptical frown. Kayla just talked. It was a relief to finally dump it all out for at least one member of the family. She told Maria things not even Charlie Yellow Dog had managed to get out of her, including leading ZAFT cadets to defend the Plants from Alliance nukes. She told her about Mendel Colony as well, making Maria the first Alliance officer not part of Blue Cosmos to know about the Ultimate Coordinator program, and Kira Yamato.

Afterwards Kayla wondered why she'd just trusted her sister so. But in the years to come, she would never find Maria ever broke that trust. What she told her that day never went past the General herself.

There was a long silence after she finished. Maria simply rode quietly. They'd moved on by that time, gently chivvying the flock toward the main pastures and the hay that would have been set out for them there. The sheep flowed away from them as the gates opened and they suddenly had access to the evenings hay ration.

"Well, I understand this much better now." Her sister finally said. "And I can't argue with your right to your own choice. I can say I'm not sure it's a good one but that's as far as I can go. You know the man and I don't. Only you can decide if he's really husband-and-father material."

"And I have." Kayla pointed out evenly.

"Yeah, you sure have at that." Maria nodded, then turned to eye her sharply. "Has anyone told you what's behind this insanity of Larry's?"

"Nope. And I don't care either! I just want the damned bastard to leave me alone!"

"Watch what you call Mom and Pop kiddo, even if you don't mean it that way. You need friends here, not more enemies. And you do need to understand what's going on. Lack of information can kill you know."

"Can it be told fast? Because I don't plan to sit out here all night, it's just too cold."

"Sure. The basics are easy. His marriage fell apart because Rebecca didn't tell him she's a Coordinator."

Kayla's head snapped around and she stared. "What?"

"Rebecca is a Coordinator." Maria repeated quietly. "I don't think she knew it. She was adopted after all and the Lewis family can't be said to have much in the way of either ambition or admiration for education. So she grew up believing she was a Natural and not a real bright one at that. They found out when Shiloh fell and broke her arm. The doctors discovered she's also a Coordinator. They tested her twin and Rebecca too."

"And found Larry Jr. is another Coordinator since his mother's one." Kayla nodded.

"Yeah, although I'd be interested in knowing why you'd make that assumption since no one else has."

"No one else has discussed genetics with Dr. Roland Ito either. Adrian's grandfather is a crank and a pain and stupid about people but he knows his own field. He explained that our family, by cleaning up our genetics like we have, has set itself up to be the ideal Ito Project cross line with any Plant Coordinator family. We will always produce Coordinator kids when paired with any Coordinator. Our genetics are so clean there's nothing left in them to block the enhancements of the Coordinator parent from dominating the cross."

She smiled grimly. "Any family like ours that is following Dr. Morrison's genetic health program is in the same boat by the way. And the Plants now know we exist. Dr. Ito will be looking for our kind of clean genetics when he can make connections with the fertility clinics again. The Morrison Plan may end up saving the Coordinators more than it does improving us Naturals; and we know how much it's helping us!"

"Oh that'll not be welcome news."

"Then don't spread it." Kayla told her sharply. "The Morrison Plan will solve so many of Earth's health issues, we can't have it denounced or halted just because it'll help the Coordinators too. Just don't say anything about it. It isn't like _they're_ gonna be shouting it from rooftops you know."

Maria nodded slowly. "I'll have to think that over carefully. The ramifications of this go in a lot of directions. But I do grant it isn't something that I should just announce without any preplanning either. The last thing we need is Blue Cosmos getting hold of this. I don't need them hunting down my family just for deciding we wanted to be healthy!"

"All the more reason to keep your mouth shut then." Kayla replied coolly.

"Uhm. Yes, and then there's the fact that Larry is a card-carrying member of Blue Cosmos too. Yeah, this will take a great deal of thought."

She closed the gates behind their horses as they followed the last of the sheep through them before adding, "I'll talk to Pop and see if something can't be done to shut Larry down. If nothing else, the kids don't need to be hearing that kind of language. Jamie is pretty steamed at you over this and Carol is just plain confused but neither of them are taking Larry's mouth very well either."

"Think you can get it through anyone's head that I am not a traitor?" She asked. "Damn it, I came home to resign just to avoid that issue! I could have stayed in the Plants if I'd wanted to commit treason!"

"I'll see what I can do." Maria promised. "Now let's get the horses stabled. I don't know about you but I'm hungry."

"I could eat." Kayla agreed amiably, happy to have the support of the oldest and most respected of her sisters assured now.

"By the way, kiddo," the General said quietly. "I want you to know that I think you did the right thing here in coming home and telling Mom and Pop face to face about your decisions. If there is ever going to be peace in the family again – Larry aside that is – it will be because you had the courage and honesty to accept that responsibility. In the long run, that'll matter more than Ito's genetics."

"Thanks." She said softly. "I really appreciate your understanding here Maria. I hope with the peace coming you can meet him someday."

The older girl grinned. "Redcoat you said eh? Well if you're gonna steal your ram from ZAFT's flock, at least you grabbed one of their best."

Kayla laughed. "You know, that's just about what I told Gran!"

Maria laughed with her. The two of them made their way from the stable to the house still chortling. And Maria made her support of her younger sister's right to her own choices, however dubious, very clear at the table that evening as well. The shock and silence it created lasted the entire evening. Kayla went to bed that night to peace and quiet. It was her first really good night's sleep since Larry had come home. She cherished it, knowing it was unlikely to last.

At least Thanksgiving was coming quickly. Alys and Todd's birthday was the day after this year. Everyone would stay for that, then they would all be going back to their duty stations. And once they were gone, she could begin to plan her own departure. She didn't want to lose her family despite all the screaming and anger but she did desperately want to see Adrian again.

* * *

It had been a nerve-wracking journey. Grandfather had managed the clearances all right but they didn't list his reason for making the trip. This lack seemed to make the security people nervous. They'd watched him all the way from Aprilius to Aube, waiting for him to metamorphose into a danger. It seemed to disappoint them that he hadn't.

Now Adrian was standing in the still damaged shuttle station in Aube, waiting for someone called Alex Dino to pick him up. Because of the diplomatic delegations going back and forth from here, it was permissible to wear his uniform. It made him conspicuous but that was the whole point. He wanted this Dino person to find him and do it quickly. He ignored the covert attention he was attracting standing here alone in the passenger pick-up area. As long as he caused no trouble, no one should object.

A large group of construction workers flowed around him, giving him a fairly wide berth as they chatted about the roof work they'd just completed. When they were gone, there was a slender young man with navy blue hair and opaque sunglasses standing beside him. Adrian eyed him for a second, then realized just who he was.

"The name's Alex Dino." He said before Adrian could make a serious mistake. "I believe you're expecting me?"

"Ah, yes, I am." Adrian agreed quickly.

"This way."

He slung his carry-all over his shoulder and followed Athrun Zala, now apparently known as Alex Dino, to a black, official looking car. Athrun opened the door for him and feeling very odd, Adrian climbed in. As he sat down, he realized Kira Yamato was sitting directly across from him. A quick hand sign kept him silent until Athrun had joined them and the car pulled away from the loading zone.

"So, Adrian, have you lost your mind?" Athrun asked conversationally.

"Not that I'm aware of." He replied dryly. "Who sent just what kind of message that you ask?"

"Your mother." Kira said equally dryly. "She says you're planning to go to Colorado to get Kayla back. If so, that sounds a bit crazy to me."

He sat back, eyes closed. He needed help here, not lectures about his sanity. He could get those at home. Besides, he was quite ready to admit he didn't know enough to do this without the appropriate equipment and some real, in-depth information. He'd come to Aube instead of going straight to Sydney for a reason after all!

"I'm hearing a lot of silence." Athrun remarked.

"What do you expect, a confession of idiocy? I'm looking for help, damn it! If I wanted to spend hours getting my motives questioned and my intelligence evaluated I could have stayed home!"

Kira sighed. "Right. Look, I've read your mother's letter and it's a bit vague. What do you actually want help with? What are you really planning to do? Do you have any ideas of how to do it?"

"Let me ask you a question first." Adrian leaned forward slightly. "Are you aware that Kayla is a bit over four months pregnant?"

"What!" Athrun sat up startled.

"I knew about it." Kira admitted. "Cagalli spotted it and demanded the medical reports from both _Archangel_ and _Kusanagi_. They got shunted onto my desk by mistake and I read them before turning them over to her."

"You knew that?" Athrun stared at his friend.

"Well, I didn't expect it to be anything you'd need to worry about." Kira pointed out.

"Right." Athrun agreed. "But now I do. Tell me these interesting tidbits next time will you? I hate being blindsided."

"You'll just drown in useless details." Kira protested.

"Better that than ignorance at the wrong moment."

"Right."

"Now that you two've settled that, can I get some help here or not?" Adrian asked testily.

"What, do you want to bring her here? To Aube?" Athrun asked.

"To start with." He agreed. "But I have an immigration permit for her for the Plants. Earth is just not a safe place for someone like Kayla any more. Blue Cosmos would come looking for her here. A minor Alliance war heroine who married an enemy officer and elected to have the wrong kind of children? Yes, they'll be after her if they can reach her."

"So you two really are going to get married! Congratulations!" Kira smiled.

"What has the Council said to that idea?" Athrun asked, much more aware of Plant law than Kira was.

"I only had one possible match in the Plants. She had several choices and I wasn't the one she picked. So as long as Kayla's genetics can be certified as properly compatible with mine and capable of producing healthy Coordinator children, I'm free to marry her if I want to." Adrian said quietly.

"Ah ha. And your grandfather Ito can certify her genetics, of course." Zala nodded.

"He'd turned the data over to the Council before I left. That's how I happen to have the immigration permit already."

"Do you have any thoughts on what kind of help you specifically need?" Kira asked.

Adrian nodded. "I'll need several things that I'm aware of and probably more that I'm not. But for starters I know I'll need acceptable local clothing, any appropriate cultural data that can be had quickly, a rental vehicle to travel over there, money, and of course, the transit tickets for me from Sydney and for the both of us to come back. I'll also need a damned good map. Kayla's family lives in a very rural area of the western North American mountain district. She's told me more than once that roads out there are few and often of poor quality."

"We can get you all that." Kira replied confidently. "The transit tickets will be the hardest part since there's no direct contact between Aube and the Atlantic Federation for civilian travel but since you plan to go from Sydney, it'll be do-able."

"How quickly?"

"It should take just about a week." Athrun told him. "And don't argue about it. You'll need the time to try to learn how to stand and move more like a Natural who grew up in a one 'g' field. We've learned it's the easiest single way for Blue Cosmos operatives to spot off-planet Coordinators. The danger level in the Federation is nothing like rumor in the Plants would have it but it isn't a safe place either. Especially for a ZAFT Elite who is traveling out of uniform in the heart of enemy territory with no peace treaty yet."

Adrian, who'd opened his mouth to protest, shut it. He'd known he couldn't just do something stupid like fly in with his GINN and pick her up. He hadn't realized just how complicated it was likely going to be though. Nor had he considered that he could be recognized just by the way he walked. It was logical, once you gave some thought to it, but it wasn't an idea that had ever crossed his mind. He'd forgotten that traveling out of uniform with the war still not legally over would get him shot as a spy too if he was caught. This whole thing was developing complexities he really could have lived without.

"You'll be staying with us." Kira told him as the silence dragged out. "Aube politics make it very unwise for Cagalli to offer you a guest room at the Residence right now. I hope you like kids."

"Lots of kids." Athrun put in darkly.

"Yes, I'm fine with kids." Adrian agreed uncertainly, looking from one to the other. "What's the problem?"

"They are orphans the Rev. Malchio has taken in. Some of them don't like ZAFT very well. Be prepared to have your shins kicked a few times." The navy haired former Elite said wryly.

"Oh," he added, "and use Alex please. Too many people want Athrun Zala dead."

"Ah, I'd wondered about that."

Athrun shrugged, almost in resignation. The green eyes looked tired when he took the sunglasses off. It didn't seem as though this new life was all Athrun had hoped it would be. Much as he wanted to, Adrian deemed it unwise to ask Kira how things were going just yet. Maybe later, when Athrun was occupied somewhere else, he would be able to find out how things had gone since they'd returned to Aube.

The rest of the trip to the harbor was occupied by a lively discussion of just what Adrian was really going to need. It quickly became apparent that the money he'd brought with him was probably not going to be enough. Everything was expensive down here and more so if you had to buy it clandestinely. Just as well that he could access his family funds through the Plant delegation since he was pretty certainly going to need to.

He wasn't surprised when Kira put a call through to Colonel Kisaka to have the man meet them out at the orphanage. Apparently Intelligence was another area of the good Colonel's expertise. Kira gave him the bare bones of the needs and Kisaka promised to be out there in the morning with some preliminary information.

They slipped from the car into a covered boat in a very small boathouse. Adrian found himself relegated to staying below deck. Apparently while 'Alex Dino' was a regular visitor to the Malchio orphanage, other ZAFT personnel had never gone there. So he had to stay out of sight the entire trip. Water travel was not a personal favorite; he was getting a bit green by the time they arrived and was very happy to quit the boat.

The island itself was a soothing place. If he weren't so pressed for time, he'd have been happy to spend much more than a single week here. The kids were a bit of a drawback. It seemed Athrun was quite correct in how some of them viewed his uniform. He managed to avoid being kicked by staying aware of where the angry ones were and dodging them. Fortunately there was a small guest house available and he didn't have to share a roof with the children.

He stretched out that night under bug netting in a room with all the windows and doors open to the shadowy air. Strange flowers perfumed the evening. The steady beat of the water on the shore gradually lulled him to sleep, aware even as he slipped under that he was going to be in for a very busy time over the next few days.


	31. Chapter 31

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Back-up and other decisions.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

"He can't go alone!"

"He already has Yuri. There's nothing we can do about it."

"Lance!" Yuri turned away from his Commander's piercing amethyst eyes. "Then we have to follow him. He's out of his head half the time now. I don't care if the stories are exaggerated, North America is not a safe place for any Coordinator and rather less so for one as mono-focused as Adrian!"

"I know that!" Commander Thoms snapped. "He'd have gone with or without my leave so I gave it to keep him out of at least some trouble. And yes, I know he's half crazy right now, all right? I honestly didn't think Mother would pull the paperwork together that fast. I thought we'd have a day or two to calm him down and get him to agree to take someone along to watch his back."

"Get me permission to land!" The former pilot demanded. "I may only have one eye but I see better right now than he does! Let me go, Lance. We've been partners too long! I can't just sit up here while he gets himself killed down there!"

"I can't." Lance replied quietly. "I already tried. Mother hit a brick wall trying for a second set of papers. Someone is very angry that a ZAFT Elite is going to Earth to bring back a Natural to marry. She's trying to find out who's blocking things but it looks like it goes into the Supreme Council itself and her reach there is very limited."

"That's not good enough!" Yuri shouted.

"That's the way it is, Lieutenant Lubbek! Do I look like a minor god to you? In case I do, one clue, I'm not!" Lance was getting angry. "Mother's still trying. It's the best we can do. Get that through that block of rock you've got for a head! We are doing all we can!"

"It isn't good enough." Yuri repeated, calmer but just as insistent. "Lance, let me try. I'll come up with something!"

"They'd have your head on a plate." Thoms told him bluntly. "You have no idea what kind of trouble you'd be in doing something that stupid. Worse, it would reflect back on Adrian. Don't even think about it, you hear me?"

Yuri waved his arms helplessly. "And if I don't, they'll both die down there!"

"Not if you go with me."

Yuri turned sharply and Lance raised both eyebrows. At some point in their rather heated discussion, Voril Joule had slipped into the office. He was standing rigidly by the closed door, eyes going back and forth between them.

"If he goes with you? I'd appreciate an explanation, Mr. Joule." Lance said with a dangerous softness that warned the experienced he was very, very angry.

Joule's gray eyes locked onto his. "Do you have any idea what it is like living in the shadow of someone like my cousin? Yzak is such a dominating personality, no one ever forgets him. And I happen to look a lot like him. It creates expectations, Commander. No one bothers to find out who I am. They know Yzak, so they assume they know me."

The eyes fell to the floor. "Captain Ito is the first officer in the whole ZAFT who looked past Yzak to see me. He didn't assume I was a clone of my cousin. He asked me what _I_ could do, not what Yzak could do. And he listened to me when I answered. He probably didn't want me here, no ones wanted me because they don't want Commander Joule telling them how to run their company just because I'm part of it. I know why I was always being transferred, I'm not blind or deaf. But I never saw any of that from him. He never once suggested there was anything wrong with me!"

The eyes came back up, on fire now. "He gave me a chance sir! No one else would! And when things didn't work out with either Druse or Yablonic, he took me on as his own wing! And he made that work! I _earned_ this red jacket! Not Yzak, me! Captain Ito's given me the chance to prove that! I owe him!"

Now the burning eyes flicked over to include Yuri. "You've given me the same chance. He was your lead before you got hurt. You can still fly mobile suits, I know you can. But you've let me come in and take your place anyway. So I owe you too."

The fire died back. "And I owe you sir. I was in eight other teams briefly. None of their Commanders would let me even try to prove I was worth having. You have. Captain Ito's your friend as well as your Second; everyone's seen that. I, well I was in a position to help so I have."

"You resent your cousin that much?" Lance asked neutrally.

"Is that how it sounds? I suppose it does, doesn't it?" He shook his head. "No, actually I rather like Yzak the person. It's Yzak the image that's been killing me. He's really a very considerate and generous guy, as long as no one can see him behaving that way. His side of the family is really messed up you know. The price they've paid for being so politically prominent is outright terrifying. Sometimes, this always sounds so strange, but honestly, I sometimes feel sorry for him. He's locked into this image, this way of being that cuts him off from most everyone who doesn't have a hide thick as Dearka's. He can't let himself be less than perfect. He isn't allowed to be human. The only people he can be just himself around are Dearka and Shiho. And even then, it has to be in private."

"Voril, what did you do?" Yuri asked worriedly.

"I went to see my Aunt Ezaria. I may not be from the political side of the family but that doesn't mean I don't know anything about it. I traded her some data she didn't have, and didn't know about, for two sets of travel documents. One's set up for me. The other is still open although I was pretty sure you would be using it. We are legal for the shuttle that leaves tonight or the one for tomorrow. Any later and we'll need to get them reworked."

Lance blinked. The boy had done this on his own? And what did he know that had pried two complete sets of Earth travel permits out of Councilor Joule's hands that fast? It was one hell of a thank you to Adrian that he'd done it but still, he really couldn't know how dangerous this was.

"I can't let you go, Joule." Thoms said regretfully. "You have no experience . . . . . . "

"Yes I do!" Voril interrupted. "That's the point, sir! We used to visit Earth all the time! Dad's a historian; we were always going someplace down there for his research. Commander, I've been to the immediate area by the Grayhawk ranch! We were there less than four years ago. It's by a silly little town, Oro Mentiroso, that Dad was interested in. We were there over three weeks! I spent most of it playing in the river, I grant you, but I _was_ there!"

Lance Thoms sat back slowly, considering this startling information.

"I looked her up after I heard the Captain was really going after her. That's how I found out where she's from. That's why I knew I could really be useful."

"Why did your father want to spend three weeks in this Oro place? Is it significant somehow? I've never heard of it." Yuri asked.

Joule leaned back against the door. "Well, you see, Dad has this idea that the reason people move is economic. If there wasn't more wealth attached, he claims we wouldn't do it, that we'd all just stay where it's familiar and comfortable. Personally, I think humans move for more reasons than just money. But this town, it really supported Dad's ideas you see, because it was settled by a rather clever money swindle. Dad wanted to have the time to really look into the story, so we stayed much longer than usual."

He grinned. "Dad went through their archives with a fine-toothed comb and talked to everyone he could who had family that went back that far. Mom shopped for the best of the local crafts for her sister's store up here. Me, I mostly played in the river like I said. One of the local girls, they called her Al, she was a little younger than me but she'd dare _anything_, she showed me how to use a gold pan. I spent most of the time out on one gravel bar or other pretending to be an old west miner."

"It was a lot of fun." He added wistfully. "More than most of Dad's stops were for sure. I still have that little bottle with the tiny amount of real gold dust I actually did find out there."

"Someone _swindled_ a town into existence?" Yuri couldn't believe it. "How do you do that?"

Voril smiled. "You sell town lots as part of shares in a gold mine that doesn't exist! Really, the people who bought into that one were serious idiots. But that's why the town got its name, Pueblo del Oro del Mentiroso, Liar's Gold Town. They've cut it down to just Oro Mentiroso over time. The river is Rio del Oro del Mentiroso, Liar's Gold River. People locally just call it the Oro now.

Lance Thoms let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Oh, good one!"

Yuri on the other hand just stared at him. "That's insane. Who'd buy shares in a gold mine they hadn't verified was there?"

Voril shrugged. "Remember, this trick was pulled in the 1850's by the old calendar. People had a harder time verifying things when you had to ride a horse three months one way to find out the truth of a story and three more months back to report it. As to who bought the shares though, they were dreamers, the gullible, and a few who just wanted an excuse to leave other problems behind and start over. Dad's research turned up a pretty varied lot of real oddball types. They were survivors though. They built a town and livelihoods out of their disappointment that have lasted up to the present."

"The important thing here, interesting history of this place aside, is that you were there and not just overnight." Commander Thoms noted, focusing back on the issue at hand. "Tell me, do you remember any of the local road net or the countryside beyond the river?"

"Yes sir, I do. One of the standard things Dad had me do was memorize the local roadmaps for whatever area he was researching at the time. He was wary of asking the locals for directions if he could avoid it. I can still draw the county road maps for all four counties in that area. I know because I tried last night and compared my work to what we have on record. The only thing is, there are a lot of local, unofficial roads that cross the ranches and I don't know many of those." He replied quickly. "Oh and the stock trails go everywhere. You'd need a horse for most of those though and I don't see where we would need to be riding horses if we have a reliable truck. We should be able to stay on the established roads."

"Horses," Yuri said thoughtfully. "I wonder . . . . ."

"Yes?" Lance prodded when there was nothing more forthcoming from the mentally occupied Lubbek.

"Oh, just an idea on how we can pass ourselves off as having a legitimate business reason for being in the area. But horses won't do. I'll have to ask my father if he'll authorize me to do some wool buying. That would be very justifiable in that area." He turned to Voril. "Do you know anything about sheep?"

The young Elite replied instantly, ticking the items off on his fingers. "They aren't good for riding. Rams don't like people in their pastures. You _really_ don't want one of them to catch up and hit you while they're running you off! Ewes will chase you out too if there are lambs present. God help you if they're using llamas as guard animals! Those things will knock you over and kneel on you! You're much safer being chased by a dog! Oh, and if you pick one up, a lamb will piss on you. Washing up after any of these things in cold creeks or slippery stock tanks is no fun. What else is there one needs to know?"

Yuri blinked. "Ah, so you did get out of the river a time or two I see. No, that tells me all I need to know about what you don't know. How about wool or the different breeds? Do you know anything about either of those topics?"

"Wool itches but makes wonderful blankets and they come in a lot of breeds."

"Riiiiight." Yuri drawled. "Scratch that idea."

"Do you know enough to pass as a wool buyer, Yuri?" Lance was curious.

"Yes I can. Lubbek Imports was a major dealer in raw wools for all sorts of industrial uses before the blockades and the war. We bought a wide variety of wools, including merino like the Grayhawks are supposed to have. I've been down to Earth a number of times myself with my father on his buying trips. Dad bought mostly in Australia and New Zeeland but there were a couple of trips to North America. If he agrees, we can go representing the company. That way, I can make real offers and nothing will fall apart on us."

"Besides," he added, "Dad wouldn't object to getting a jump on reopening his markets."

"That leaves us the question of how to account for Mr. Joule here since he clearly isn't qualified to buy wool." Thoms drummed his fingers thoughtfully on his desk.

"Actually, I have an idea there too. And it would cover Adrian as well." Yuri nodded at Voril. "He can be hired protection. I'm too obviously a Coordinator and couldn't really pretend to be anything else. So it would be logical for me to arrange for security traveling in North America. If we got them papers from one of the general commercial contracting companies in Aube, it wouldn't even seem unusual that they were Coordinators too. Protective services companies are one of the biggest open employers of Coordinators in most Earth nations."

Voril brightened. "I have the unarmed combat training to support that kind of role! My instructor was a great believer in the concept that anyone who actually _needed_ their martial arts skills wasn't going to be fighting in a tournament either. He saw to it that I learned a lot of not so nice street fighting bits too."

Lubbek's smile was outright vicious. "And Adrian never was a gentleman in a hand to hand fight either. Yes sir, I think we've got this worked out."

"Better call your father and secure his permission and a line of credit so you can do your wool buying then." Commander Thoms knew when a situation was running away from him and this one was heading out of any control he could exert very quickly now.

"Thank you sir!" Both of them chorused and hurried out the door, planning as they went.

Lance shook his head slowly. He was now risking three good people on this insanity. But there wasn't much he could do to stop it really. Adrian was too far out of his head to slow down. He'd have found a way out of the brig to go after that girl if he'd had to. The other boys were simply too loyal for their own good. Well, that and too interested in what would beyond doubt be a real adventure. He wondered if they'd ever heard of the old idea that adventure was someone else having a hideous time a thousand kilometers away.

He didn't tell them that one; not then or when they parted at the shuttle station where they boarded for Earth. It would only have looked like sour grapes to the excited youngsters if he had. Yuri had his father's blessing to go wool buying so they had a solid cover story at least. Commander Thoms could only hope the whole thing would work out as well as the boys expected it to.

Of course, their first hurdle was going to be getting Adrian to take them along. Somehow, he had confidence in their ability to manage that one. They wouldn't be going into that one alone after all. Lance was quite sure, for starters, that Yamato and Zala would support them. If Kisaka was in on this, he would too. Poor Ito was likely to find any objections simply washed over like a low mudflat by a tidal wave.

He just hoped the message Mother promised she'd send got to Earth before the shuttle did. And that it reached Zala in time. It would really not be a good start if they were stranded at the Aube station on arrival after all.

* * *

Serin Ito studied the letter on her desk with much the interest she would have given a venomous spider. Considering who'd sent it, the comparison was actually rather apt. He really was quite good. He'd managed several layers of innuendo and threat in one simple page. He'd even tossed in a genuine compliment or two.

It was the old book that he'd sent along with the letter though that told her just how much the man knew. And by the depth of that knowledge, just how genuinely dangerous he was. She shook her head slowly. Admire or hate him, you had to recognize just how thoroughly this man had planned for the future. No matter what Roland thought, they were not going to be fighting with him. They were in no way prepared to match the strength of his preparations.

She looked at the book again. "Genomic Health" had been written before her father-in-law was born. The author, Dr. Phillip Morrison, was one of the team that had worked on the creation of George Glenn. But Dr. Morrison apparently came out of that program unconvinced humanity really needed to go so far as to change into Coordinators. Instead, he advocated the path people like Kayla Grayhawk's family had been following; clean the living daylights out of your own genome and pass on nothing but genetic soundness and outstanding health to the next generation.

The volume she had here was an eleventh printing. By that time the ideas in the book were apparently being called the Morrison Plan and there were some unknown but, judging from the notes at the end of the dedication, not insignificant number of families involved. Clearly the Grayhawks had joined the program in its early stages or Kayla wouldn't be so very genetically clean.

He knew all about these people. He claimed, and she did not doubt him at all, to have a listing of the majority of the so-called Morrison Plan families. He also asserted that he could arrange for a limited selection genetic samples from these lines to be provided to the Project whenever they were requested. She had to wonder if he really could deliver on that promise. It would be damned useful if he could. On the other hand, Roland would have numerous kittens at the very mention of the idea. Serin frowned severely, he hadn't known about the Grayhawks until Roland had been required to validate Kayla as a good match for Adrian.

It was damned unfortunate that he'd learned but then, neither of them had realized he was Patrick's unofficial geneticist for the Supreme Council. Even with Zala gone, no one had replaced him yet. She doubted Eileen was even going to try. The pool of qualified people was small and the clever man had never been implicated in any of Patrick's genocidal plans. Serin quite frankly doubted he'd had any real idea. He wanted to control the human race, not eliminate it. Besides, too many of the current Council thought well of the man, they lacked any reason to remove him.

She picked up the letter again and reread the paragraph where he congratulated Roland in securing a girl from that Plan for his grandson. Oh my yes, he understood just what Kayla would do for their children. And his careful wording made it just as clear what he could do to Kayla and the children with only the slightest tampering with the records. This was going to cut Roland off before any battle began.

There was an olive branch in here as well. It did seem that his memory was every bit as sharp as Roland thought it would be. But the man did not want a war with Dr. Ito. Rather, he saw the Ito Project as a solid contribution to his own views. It seemed that while he still firmly believed in genetic predestination, he had no objections to anyone who tried to improve the place of the next generation using intelligently chosen genetic selection. Moreover, he definitely did want to see Coordinators freed from the necessity of using a med-lab for each and every child produced.

It was quite clear to her where things would go when he took power. The Ito Project would actually expand as he sought out more of these 'Morrison Plan' families and obtained significant quantities of genetic material from them. The current project using the best obtainable Natural genetics would not be curbed either. Eventually, there would be two tracks going at once. Both would be working with the same goal, make the Coordinator population genuinely self-sustaining.

After all, in his mind Coordinators were destined to become a sound and capable human sub-species that would be dominate over the much larger but lesser talented Natural population in a perpetually peaceful, warless society. What was it about some kinds of genius that blinded them to how people really worked? Considering what she knew of the human mind and it's powerful emotional drives, Serin could only wonder what this idiot-genius was smoking.

She sighed quietly. He was a very powerful idiot-genius and growing more so by the day. Miranda was quite correct when she said he would take control of the Council before long. She had to wonder if he didn't almost have it already. They were just now negotiating the end of one war; couldn't he see that his plans would create a new one?

Her eyes narrowed. Perhaps he did see that, or at least some of it. He couldn't be blind to the simple fact that killing Muruta Azriel had not done anything to seriously damage Blue Cosmos. That fanatical weasel was replaceable as long as the organization itself was intact. And while she would like to think the war had done them irreparable harm, she was not such a fool as to cherish that naive a hope.

So, Serin sat back very thoughtfully, she must assume he wasn't naïve either. That meant he was planning a new battle of some kind. His plans couldn't move forward with Blue Cosmos standing in the way. She wondered how many other individuals and groups he saw as obstacles that would have to be removed on the road to building his dream world. If there were enough of them, he would undoubtedly resort to just the kind of brutal warfare they'd just ended. Only that would give him death on the scale he would need to clear the 'detritus' of people and ideas that would oppose him out of his path.

Damn it! It didn't matter how many he killed! The imbecile just couldn't let himself see his dream was doomed from the outset. Too many of the survivors were not going to meekly accept being shunted into his convenient pigeonholes. Parents would resent the absolute limits placed on their children at birth. The children, especially those with serious levels of ambition, would do more than just resent it.

Humans dreamed. It was one of their outstanding characteristics. His society had no place for dreams. Yet it offered no substitute for them either. He failed to see that it didn't matter where your pigeonhole was; if it didn't match your personal dreams you weren't going to be happy there. And unhappy people would rip his imagined arcadian society to bloody shreds.

But before all else, the Ito family had to survive to have any place in tearing his fool's paradise apart. That was going to mean getting Roland to cooperate with the man well enough to convince him that he'd won their personal war before any shot was fired. Roland wasn't going to like that.

She was going to have to keep Adrian and Kayla out of this if she possibly could as well. He had the ZAFT, he could be distracted there. She was going to be a new mother. Hopefully between those, they could be left blind to the politics swirling around them. Neither of them had the skills to survive in a political battle with that man but that wouldn't keep either from trying if they were given reason to think they had to fight him.

Serin snorted quietly. She wondered if she was the blind one now. Those two were frighteningly bright when they bothered to use their minds. Could the real political situation be kept from them? She didn't know. She only knew it would be vital to try.

First things first. The children were down on Earth right now. She would worry about managing them when they got back. Roland on the other hand was right down the hall. He was going to have to be attended to immediately.

Serin picked up the letter and the book. This time the old man was going to hear her, really hear her. Gilbert Dullindal could cherish his illusions if he pleased but the Ito family couldn't afford such any longer. No, Roland was going to have to deal with this future without those rosy glasses of his. Adrian's children wouldn't survive if he didn't. She marched out of her office. She had an old lion to beard in his own den.


	32. Chapter 32

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well, this took forever! Sorry about that. Had a few medical issues that rather fried my brain. Somehow, I don't do well writing with a fried brain. I'm notsure this is even a half-way decent chapter but, oh well, at least it's here and I can move on again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Aube was really a beautiful place. Yuri Lubbek stood quietly in the small boat house beside the alertly interested Voril Joule and watched as a yacht somewhat larger that he would have expected to fit in doors slipped gently up to the dock. Martin Dacosta, who had met them at the shuttle station, nodded at her. 

"Your transport, gentlemen. Please stay below deck at all times. The _Sundancer_ is a regular on the run to where you're going but ZAFT personnel are not. It would endanger more than you know if you were seen."

"We understand." Yuri accepted the order for both of them. "We aren't here to upset this operation but to help it."

Dacosta nodded at a trim young man in dark sunglasses who was putting the mooring rope over a bollard. "You can give the details to Alex Dino there. He'll be the one assisting you."

Yuri glanced at the man, then took a second, somewhat longer look. "Alex Dino?"

Martin nodded. "Yes, Alex is Princess Cagalli's personal bodyguard and she often has him helping any project her brother Kira is working on. Believe me, Kira is up to his neck in helping on this one."

"That'll improve the odds of this going well." Yuri agreed. "Adrian likes Kira and will usually listen to him. I believe he approves of Alex too."

"You know him?" Voril asked, curiously studying the navy-haired man who was waiting patiently for them to board now.

"Oh, we've met." The one-eyed ex-pilot said dryly.

"You don't care for him?" Voril's study grew sharply pointed.

"No, you mistake me here. I respect the man and his choices. But he's not an easy person to get to know and he guards his own privacy fiercely. So while I can honestly say I like what little I've had a chance to know of him, he has depths I'm ignorant of and they inform a lot of his decisions. I can't predict what Alex Dino will do from moment to moment."

"Ex-ZAFT then?"

"Yes. A decision he had less choice about than many assume by the way." Yuri's good eye was looking inward at that moment, reliving the not so distant past. "He chose the only course he could live with back then. I just hope it has rewarded him. He paid a higher price for this current peace than most and he did it with full understanding of what he was doing and what it would cost. He's a good man Voril, even if he is somewhat hard to know."

Martin eyed the pensive Lieutenant with respect. "Not many understand him that well. You must have known him for a while."

"No, not really. I didn't honestly have a chance to get to know him until after Second Jachin Due. By then he was committed to the Clyne faction and had played his painful part in that battle. The man I met had already made his choices and could talk about them. Our conversations while aboard _Kusanagi_ were enlightening to say the least. I've learned a great deal about facing the unsettled future from Alex Dino."

"Oh," Voril was mildly surprised by the sound of it. "Maybe I should sit and listen to the guy then. Everyone tells me I have no idea how to plan for the future."

Yuri grinned. "You don't. But that doesn't keep you from charging headlong into it anyway."

He looked thoughtfully at Dino. "He might be willing to help at that. He knows Yzak and, I think, likes him despite his nature. He should be able to talk to you too since you're actually so different."

Voril nodded agreeably. "By the way, who is this Kira person? I'd never heard that Lord Uzumi had a son."

"Ah, now that's one long and complex story." Yuri told him. "Barest of bare bones; they're twins and were separated shortly after birth. Lord Uzumi adopted Cagalli and another family adopted Kira. They grew up unaware that they were each half of a twin set. I gather they were actually deliberately kept apart too. Moreover, he's a Coordinator and she's a Natural. It isn't a happy tale by the way so I'd be very careful to have Kira's permission before I did any digging in it if I were you. He's a good guy but he does have moments when he values his privacy."

"The Princess is adopted?"

"That's right. Now, you never say that out loud again, hear me?"

"Ah, yeah, sure." Voril blinked several times. "That would cause a lot of political trouble if that got out."

"I doubt it's all that much of a secret to the inner circle here but it still isn't something the man on the street appears to know and it isn't something he needs to."

"Yeah, I understand that!" He paused then asked, "So where was her brother that they never met?"

"Heliopolis from what I've been told. He was in tech school there when the Le Creuset team came raiding for the G-weapons."

"He got out of there alive? Lucky guy too isn't he?"

"That's part of the complex story." Yuri noted quietly. "We can see about going into it when we get wherever we're going."

"All right. We are here to help the Captain first anyway." Voril agreed promptly, his curiosity carefully shelved for the moment.

Dacosta smiled wryly at them. "Yeah, tell that to Captain Ito! He will not be happy to see, ah, babysitters."

"Nobody ever is." Voril replied serenely. "And right now, he's not thinking clearly enough to understand why we should be here. I do expect a lot of noise about this before it's over."

"You understate that well." Yuri noted.

Just over two hours later he decided that Voril had missed his calling. He should have gone into prophetic predictions. They'd arrived and walked up to the residence. Everything fell apart right there. Adrian had spotted them and met them on the porch. The shouting began immediately; it had been going on for nearly half an hour now. It was getting repetitive too. Nor did it help that 'Alex Dino' was still leaning silently against the doorframe, listening to it all.

"I outrank you Joule! You will get back on that boat and go home! How many times do I have to give you a simple order?"

"No." Voril replied just as calmly as he had the first time Adrian had screamed at him.

"That is an order, mister!"

"Tell me Captain, what part of 'no' don't you get?" His wingman finally asked.

"Excuse me?" The tone of voice was dangerous.

"What part of 'no' don't you get?" Joule repeated civilly.

"I am going to kick your ass so far out of the ZAFT they won't find you for a thousand years!"

"No you will not sir." Voril told him. "You will eventually run out of temper and then we can discuss this like rational people. Understand sir, you're an amateur at this temper game next to my cousin. I learned from the Plant's greatest expert on uncontrolled fury. If I can outwait Yzak, I can outwait you."

For a wonder, that brought Adrian to a stop. For the first time in over half an hour, there was silence. Yuri eyed his friend's face with great interest. The range of emotions flitting across it was amazing. As the silence continued to stretch, he wondered if they'd finally come to the turning point in this that Dr. Serin Ito had promised them they would reach if they could just not let him run them off.

"Lieutenant, go home." Adrian's voice was dead flat.

Yuri sighed mentally. No, they weren't at the turning point yet. Voril though had apparently had enough. To the shock of all onlookers, he pealed off his belt, red coat and blue undershirt. He hung them all, in correct order, on the coat tree from the hall. He then placed that item, with a hastily snatched pillow balanced up at head height, in front of his Captain. Adrian stared from the coat tree to his wingman in some confusion.

"One of the major reasons," Voril began only to stop and start over. "No, the major reason I'm here is because you've always seen me before. You never once suggested you ever saw Yzak; it was always and only me, Voril. But now you aren't seeing me. You're yelling at my uniform. Well, sir, you can do that whether I'm in it or not. Since I find it rather painful to just stand here while you chew my clothes out, I thought I'd just leave them here for you to scream at for a bit. I'll be over on the other side of the porch when you want to talk to me again."

Voril Joule marched over to the sunny side of the porch, found a well padded chair and flopped into it. He did not look back or say another word. By the look on his face, Adrian couldn't manage any words either.

For several minutes, Yuri honestly thought his friend was going to have a heart attack. The amber eyes were as wide as they could go and his face was a brighter red than his hair. He was having trouble breathing too.

Then something changed. The head lowered and the eyes, barely visible behind the hair that immediately fell forward, drifted to half closed. The vivid coloring faded to an equally dangerous looking pallor. The hands opened and closed in an oddly helpless manner. The only thing unchanged was the trouble he was still having with his breathing. There were more long minutes of silence before he slowly shook his head.

"Yuri," Adrian's voice was barely audible, "he's only just sixteen. He has no combat experience. He doesn't know what he's asking me to allow him to do. This isn't a safe place and to make the situation even more unstable, I'm a Coordinator looking for a Natural girl. This could go bad so easily! I don't want him here for that. Is this so unreasonable?"

"No and yes." The one-eyed former pilot replied quietly. "No, it isn't unreasonable for any leader to want his people safe. Yes, it is unreasonable to try to wrap someone who has earned that red coat in cotton and put him on a ledge. Unfortunately, deliberate or not, that's what it looks and sounds like you want to do here. He won't let you do it Adrian. He's earned the right to take his own chances and to decide for himself when he should go in harm's way."

"Yes, in a mobile suit! He's had the training to be able to judge his chances there!" He stepped back and sank onto a chair by the door. "This is a trip to North America for reasons that have nothing to do with the interests of the Plants. This is for me alone. He didn't sign on for this kind of thing. I have no right to take him or even to allow him to go!"

He looked up, eyes a bit frantic. "Or you either for that matter. Please, Yuri, take Voril and go home!"

"Not a chance. We have full rights to volunteer for any thing we chose to. You know that. You also know that's exactly what we're doing. Now, since I'm also getting tired of dancing around and listening to you be a stubborn fool, just tell me what's really wrong with you, eh?"

But Ito just shook his head, refusing to answer that question. This, this was so frustrating! Yuri wanted to scream at him, to slap him in the head, anything to get him to talk about it. Unfortunately, he knew from experience that when Adrian folded up like this, it was next to impossible to get anything out of him.

"He fears loss, Lieutenant Lubbek." A new voice said quietly. "He fears being forced into a situation where he will have to chose who to save. He dreams vividly and talks during his nightmares you see."

"Reverend Malchio, please shut up!" Adrian cried.

Yuri looked at the tall, slender man in his simple shirt and pants held up with a string tied at his waist. So this was the famous blind monk, the man who had been trusted as a go-between in the failed, last ditch effort to end the war before "Spit Break". He bowed politely to the oddly commanding figure.

"Thank you, sir. I was afraid that was the problem."

"You have seen this before in him then?"

"No sir, what I saw was the situation. We were part of the ill-planned attack on the Seventh Orbital Fleet. We were all fairly green then, it was only our third actual combat mission. Two of our Team went left when the plan called for going right. The other two in the group went the right way. But by splitting apart, all four were confronted by more enemy forces than they could handle. Adrian and I had to choose who to save. We could only help one pair, there were too many mobile armors to let us even consider splitting ourselves. We had fractions of a second to decide. We saved two, and lost two."

Yuri hesitated, then added softly, "It was a soul-breaking choice. They were all our friends. We'd been together since entering training. We had to listen as they screamed for help, and died because we'd gone to assist the others."

"Ah, I understand." Malchio nodded gravely. "You know then, that he believes he already knows where his choice would go?"

"Of course. He'd choose Kayla and the children. That's a forgone conclusion. I'd be pissed as hell if he didn't."

"How can you say that?" Adrian asked shakily. "How can you even consider this insanity knowing I wouldn't stand with you?"

"Because we want you to have a wife and kids to go home to at night." Voril said calmly, he'd come wandering back unnoticed. "If you don't grasp that, you're crazier than I thought you were over this."

"We did bring a plan with us; we aren't here just to throw ourselves away blindly. A bit of faith in at least me would be nice." Yuri added. "I can understand why you might not think Voril was prepared but you could at least credit me with some forethought. Oh, and he is very prepared by the way. He's the one who blackmailed his Aunt Ezaria to get us the travel papers."

"You did what?" Alex Dino blurted, shocked out of his silence. "Have you lost your mind? Don't you have any idea just how slippery that woman is? People don't blackmail Ezaria Joule! She gets even!"

"I didn't blackmail anyone!" Voril snapped. "I traded her some data she didn't have for the papers, all right? She's _my_ Aunt, Dino! I know how to deal with her."

"Father used to think he did too." Alex replied grimly.

Yuri just watched as that comment brought Voril's attention sharply onto 'Alex Dino'. He saw him take in the whole man this time. The sunglasses were off, leaving the unmistakable green eyes exposed. Recognition hit very quickly. The gray eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. Voril turned to him.

"You do know who this is correct?"

"Of course." Yuri replied.

"And what you said in the boathouse, you did mean that?"

"Yes, I did."

Voril turned back to 'Dino'. "Sir, I question if the late Chairman really knew anyone by the end there. He'd become someone I could no longer recognize. I don't think many who'd met him before the war knew the man who was there at the end of it."

Athrun just looked down. "No, I don't suppose they did. I couldn't even recognize him anymore."

Kira was suddenly standing beside him, one hand on Athrun's shoulder and a wealth of sad understanding in his eyes. Reverend Malchio smiled slightly and slipped away, seeming to think he was no longer needed. Voril's eyes flicked over to him, asking Yuri who this new one was.

Kira now wore an Aube Colonel's uniform, the mobile suit insignia on his collar catching the stray bits of sun. That aside, he looked the same as ever. At least this time the sadness in the gentle eyes was for someone else. Looking at him, Yuri was amazed all over again to realize this was the most formidable mobile suit pilot of the entire war. He never looked the part.

"I suppose introductions are in order now." Adrian said quietly, still sitting in the chair he'd fallen into earlier. "Kira, Alex, this is my wingman, Voril Joule. He's a cousin of Yzak's. Voril, meet Colonel Kira Yamato and Alex Dino. I know you know Dino by another name but you'll kindly forget that one please. The change is for security reasons and if you never use the old name, you'll never make a mistake in the wrong place."

"Yes sir." Although he hadn't reclaimed his clothing from the coat tree yet, Voril nevertheless saluted them both.

Athrun nodded but Kira managed to return it with an Aube-style salute. The violet eyes smiled now. He promptly put out his hand as soon as he'd finished the salute.

"Pleased to meet you, Elite Joule."

"Thank you, Colonel."

Kira turned to Adrian. "Is he always this formal?"

"Only when he's unsure of his ground."

"Actually, you two should get along quite well." Athrun said quietly. "Voril is not much like Yzak. He lacks his cousin's unreasonable temper for one thing and he has a very accessible sense of humor for another."

"Oh, good! Two Joules who wanted to kill me would be a bit much!"

"Yzak wants to kill you? Whatever for? He's never fought Aube that I know of." Voril asked, completely puzzled.

Kira turned to Yuri, one eyebrow slightly raised. "How much have you told him?"

"That you and Cagalli are twins, separated at birth and raised apart. I rather thought if there was much more you wanted him to know right now, you'd tell him yourself."

Kira shook his head. "That isn't enough. He'll make mistakes with so little to go on."

"It's still your story, Kira. I didn't know where to draw the line and once you start on that one, finding a stopping place is not easy."

"He has a point." Athrun noted.

"Yes, I understand." The brunette looked quietly at Voril, then shrugged and began. "I suppose the fastest way to get into this is to tell you I was the pilot for the Strike and the Freedom."

"Captain?" Voril's eyes were wide as they could go.

"Absolute truth, Voril. Kira Yamato was Strike and Freedom's pilot. He's the finest mobile suit pilot alive today and possibly any day. And yeah, I know, he doesn't look it. Doesn't matter. That's who he is, which does matter." Adrian replied gently. "He's also a good friend."

"Strike," Voril said very carefully, "was an Earth Forces mobile suit."

"I know." Adrian agreed. "But by the time I really met Kira, he was flying Freedom and the _Archangel_ had joined the Clyne Team. The earlier encounter in Alaska doesn't count. I never knew who I was talking to that time. Mu, . . . . . . . ., Mu had the Strike by then."

The younger pilot caught the pain so clear in that strange name. "Who was this Mu? You've never mentioned him before either."

"Mu La Flaga." Kira replied softly. "The Hawk of Endymion. My teacher and friend. We lost him on the last day of the shooting war."

"He was a great deal like my older brother." Adrian said. "He had the same kind of generosity, humor, and willingness to give all he had for what he believed in. I knew him one day; I'll miss him the rest of my life."

Voril turned to the coat tree and reclaimed his uniform, dressing silently. No one else had anything to say either. Yuri could see they were all lost in memory and thought.

"I'd like to hear the whole story sometime." Voril said quietly as he fastened his belt back where it belonged. "But this may not be the ideal moment. We did come here for quite another reason."

"Be very careful here, Joule." Athrun spoke softly but firmly.

"Zala, please tell me one thing." The other pilot turned to him. "Yzak respected you, to this day he still respects you. I don't understand what I'm hearing here but I can deal with that later. I do need to know what you did in that last battle at Jachin Due to keep Yzak's respect. He won't tell me."

"I was piloting the Justice."

Voril went very still. "Chen Lu tells us that he watched Freedom and Justice shoot down most of the nukes aimed at the Plants. That you did this both days of the battle. Is this the truth?"

"Yes." Kira and Athrun replied together.

"I see." The pale gray head went down. "Then whatever else you two did or did not do no longer really matters. You saved the Plants. That debt must be recognized first and foremost."

"There is no debt." Athrun said harshly.

"You don't get to decide that Zala." Voril straightened and looked the legend right in the eye. "I have a sister. She's five months old. I get to decide if I feel a debt to you both for saving her, and my parents as well. And I tell you that I do feel one. You may choose to ignore it, but _you_ can not tell _me_ it isn't there. No more than I can tell you that you must accept anything from me for it."

"Good. Because I won't." Athrun snapped.

"That too we can discuss at another time. For the moment, I will not attempt to push anything on you in gratitude if you will simply let this go. We really need to get back to our original reason for coming here. Time is passing and somehow, I don't think we want too much of it to get away from us."

"Probably not." Kira agreed. "You said you had a plan? That's more than Adrian came with."

"Oh, we have a plan all right." Yuri agreed with a quick grin. "It will account for three Coordinators wandering the American mountains and should keep most people from really bothering us much. Money talks after all and even if it comes from the Plants, well once it's in your account, it spends just like any other money."

"That makes no sense." Adrian complained.

"Very basic outline here; I am a wool buyer for Lubbek Imports. Adrian and Voril will play hired security. I'm hoping you will have connections with one of the real security firms based here so we can do a convincing fake job for ourselves."

"You're a what?" Kira stared at Yuri.

"A wool buyer." Athrun said, eyes lighting. "Lubbek Imports is the biggest single supplier of natural wools to Plant industries. It's a real firm and they do have people who come here every year to buy wools all over the globe. The war will have broken that pattern and it would surprise no one to see a Lubbek buyer trying to get a jump on the peace."

"Yuri," Adrian asked carefully, "do you know how to buy wool? And does this other Lubbek group know you're using their name?"

"Lubbek Imports belongs to my father. Yes, I can buy wool. In fact, Dad has set me up with a line of credit through the Bank of Aube and any contracts I write will be very real. Wool delivered under those contracts _will_ be paid for! I'm killing two birds with the one proverbial stone here; helping you and reestablishing Dad's markets." Yuri grinned like a cat in a dish of cream.

"We can set you up with the biggest security firm in the western Pacific." Kira told them cheerfully. "Dreyfus Security has worked for the Aube government any number of times."

"But I'm still not getting the hang of moving like a one-g native!" Adrian protested.

"This way, you don't have to." Voril told him. "You simply become a Dreyfus agent from the lost colony at Heliopolis. That will cover your moving like you're space born and may even make some Naturals a bit sympathetic."

"Yes, I'd say you have a plan." Athrun told them. "It's even a logical one. This is good because while Dreyfus may have helped the Aube government in the past, they won't go for this if you can't measure up to at least their minimal standards. They can't afford to lend their name to incompetents."

"Understood." Yuri agreed.

"If this falls through because they don't like us for some reason," Voril noted, "we will need help setting up a new plan. This is the only one we brought with us."

"Lets see what they have to say before we start worrying about that." Kira advised.

"You really won't go home, will you?" Adrian asked wearily.

"No." Voril and Yuri chorused.

"Then I guess I'll go with your plan. It is a whole lot better than my vague ideas were."

"Yes!" Voril yelled in triumph as Adrian just winced.

"I will regret this for the rest of my life." He muttered.

"Oh, I don't think so." Kira told him happily as he headed for the interior of the residence. "If it lets you bring Kayla out safely, what do you care that someone else thought it up?"

"No Kira, that's not the point. I will have to live forever with Voril Joule telling everyone how _he_ rescued _my_ wife. Athrun only thinks Yzak's a pain. He's never had to deal with Voril's insane enthusiasm. I swear, he acts like he's ten sometimes."

"I heard that!" Voril yelled.

"Doesn't make it wrong!" Adrian yelled back.

"They're lead and wing?" Athrun asked Yuri. "How can they function when they argue like kids?"

"They don't when they're in mobile suits." He replied calmly. "Point of fact, they're almost frighteningly professional when they close the hatches. But until then, well, Voril's become the kid brother Adrian never had. And he sees Adrian as the light of the ZAFT."

"Adrian Ito, the light of the ZAFT?" Athrun stared. "What is the kid on?"

"Bad case of hero worship." Yuri sighed quietly. "You know Yzak. You know how widely his reputation's spread. Now imagine being his cousin and following him into the ZAFT. I'm sure you can see for yourself just what kind of problems that would cause you. He was assigned and transferred out of seven units before we got him. Their commanders were all afraid of how Yzak would behave when they had his cousin in their team. Adrian didn't want the trouble he thought would come with him either. But when it became clear there was no chance to move him on, he did his best for the kid. And Voril has just developed amazingly. All because someone sees him, not his cousin."

"Ah," he gave a slow nod of understanding and agreement. "He's good then I take it?"

"Very. Not many people can keep up with Adrian. Even I used to have problems with it. But not that kid. He's always right where he's supposed to be. Moreover, he's got outstanding instincts too. He can spot trouble coming a thousand kilometers out. And he reacts well when it arrives. No, Voril Joule will give his cousin's name as a mobile suit pilot a run for its money over time."

"Hey!" Kira shouted from somewhere inside. "Anyone hungry? Food's ready!"

"Coming!" Athrun called.

"We can go over everything after dinner." He added to Yuri. "Colonel Kisaka may be here by then too. He's the one who will have to set things up with Dreyfus."

"Good, I'll be grateful for his input." Yuri replied.

"Hey, food is waiting!" Voril yelped. "You two want to stop obstructing the doorway?"

Athrun raised both eyebrows but stepped aside. Voril headed in with a long stride and a cheerful grin. Yuri just shook his head, glad he'd decided to include food supplies in the pile of gear he'd brought to the island. Voril, who had an appetite to go with his age, would eat the place out of house and home if he hadn't.

"Wait! Voril! Slow down!" Adrian cried suddenly. "Look out for . . . . . ."

There was a loud crash and something shrilled 'haro!'.

"For the haros." Adrian finished, too late.

"Oh! Mr. Green! What have you done?" Lacus Clyne's unmistakable voice carried clearly.

"Well," Yuri noted. "I did say he could see trouble coming. Toys on the other hand, he's a bit blind to."

Athrun was looking down the hall at the wreckage with the young Elite pilot on the floor in the middle of it all. "Ah, yes. I must agree."

"So don't just stand there you two." Adrian grumped. "Help me get him up and this mess taken care of!"

He stamped off to pick up Voril. Athrun gave his back a rather odd look. Yuri tipped his head, asking a silent question.

"The Captain needs to be a bit less tense, don't you agree?" Zala said innocently.

"Eh?"

"Haro! Haro! Haro! Haro!"

"Mr. Pink! Mr. Navy! Mr. Yellow! Mr. Red! Stop!"

"Yahhhhhh!"

There was a second crash. Yuri stared. Four of those insane haros were bouncing all over Adrian and Voril, pinning them to the floor. Lacus was trying to catch her toys. And Athrun Zala stood there like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

Yuri looked down. There seemed to be a small control unit of some kind in Athrun's hand. Oh, yeah, he'd built all those things hadn't he?

"How long do you plan to keep this up?" He asked the former Elite.

"Oh, until they both seem to have lost some of that stress."

"Hope the power units last into next week then."

"No," he said regretfully. "Lacus will spot me before then."

"Zala."

"Yes?"

"I think she already has."

"Oh, not this soon."

"ATHRUN!"

"Zala."

"Yes?"

"Run!"


	33. Chapter 33

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I love the works of Rudyard Kipling! Especially "Kim" and his ancient history poetry.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Roland Ito glared at his daughter-in-law when she put the opened book down on top of the charts he was working on.

"What is this?" He gave it a quick once-over and was startled. "Poetry?"

"Instructions." Serin replied bluntly. "Read the middle two sections very carefully. Then I have a letter to show you. It will explain the poem."

"I don't have time for some silly game!"

"Make time, Roland." She ordered grimly. "All our calculations have been upset."

He gave her an odd look, then pulled the book into a better reading position before he began to recite it aloud.

"Rome never looks where she treads, Always her heavy hooves fall

On our stomachs, our hearts or our heads: And Rome never heeds when we bawl.

Her sentries pass on – that is all, And we gather behind them in hordes,

And plot to reconquer the Wall, With only our tongues for our swords.

We are the Little Folk – we! To little to love or to hate.

Leave us alone and you'll see How we can drag down the State!

We are the worm in the wood! We are the rot at the root!

We are the taint in the blood! We are the thorn in the foot!

Mistletoe killing an oak – Rats gnawing cables in two –

Moths making holes in a cloak – How they must love what they do!

Yes – and we Little Folk too. We are busy as they –

Working our works out of view – Watch and you'll see it some day!

No indeed! We are not strong. …………"

He stopped. "What is all this?"

"I told you, instructions. The actual title is "A Pict Song" by an English poet and writer from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, old dating, named Rudyard Kipling. He produced quite a number of very interesting pieces. Many of them are still quite useful." She dropped the poisonous letter on top of the book of verse. "Now read this."

He twitched it into position and read silently. Serin could follow where he was in the letter just by the tiny changes in his expression and the sudden tensions in his body. For a wonder, it looked very like he was going to understand the situation on the first pass this time. Using the old Kipling poem to get his mind started in the right direction had been a very good idea. His eyes were blazing by the time he reached the end.

"No!" Roland barked.

"No what? No you don't understand the letter or no, you're not going to admit what it means?" Serin demanded.

"I understand what he thinks he's doing perfectly well, damn it! But you're assuming he'll be all but invulnerable and that's idiocy!"

"I never said the man's invulnerable; now or when he finally steps forward to seize power." She said with an icy calm. "I am saying you are leaning toward being a mule-headed fool again though! We are not equipped to fight the war with him you want to fight. Read that letter again. Pay attention to the fourth paragraph from the bottom. Unless you have an answer for it, you'd better start planning a very different war from the one we've been intending to wage."

"Bah! We can handle Dee! He's not as smart as he thinks he is!"

Serin forced herself to count to ten rather than just scream in his face. This was precisely the attitude she'd been afraid he'd have. Normally she'd walk our and let him stew a while before trying again. Unfortunately, this time it wasn't practical. Dullindal had at _least_ one well placed set of eyes and ears inside the Project itself for him to know as much as he'd put in that letter. She couldn't afford to let Roland show this kind of defiance where that unknown agent could report it back or they would never even be able to fight the Pict's way.

"First of all Roland, he has a name; use it! He sent you a letter old man! He's through pretending he doesn't remember you! It's a little late for pretending you've forgotten him!"

"Serin, what's the matter with you?" He sounded genuinely shocked this time.

"Fourth paragraph from the bottom; that's what happened." She replied savagely.

Reluctantly he picked it up and looked at it again. This time he took it very slowly, actively trying to understand just what had her so upset, so sure their plans had to change. She watched the color rise and fade in his face as the subtle threats finally sank in. Oh yes, this time he was getting the real message here.

He went back to the top of the page and started the entire thing over, reading it all with that same care and probing study. It took him almost half an hour. When he was done, he set it down with the kind of care an explosives expert might give to a corroded, home-built booby-trap. In it's own way, it was just as dangerous even if the explosion it would make didn't send physical shrapnel through the air. Political shrapnel could also kill, something too many chose to ignore. For a good while he just sat there, an oddly blank look on his face that told her he was considering something with his full attention. Finally he shook his head and returned his attention to the larger world.

"He holds quite a hand of cards." Roland said quietly.

"Yes. I wish we'd understood his relationship with Patrick. There are a few moves I wouldn't have made if I'd know about it. I suspect there are some you regret now too."

"Doesn't matter." The old man dismissed it. "The past can't be changed. We did what we did and he learned what he's learned from it. The new trick will be to control what else he learns from now on."

"We need to find that traitor. Then we can come up with a sound reason to dismiss them."

Roland snorted at her. "Now who's being the fool? Yes, we need to identify them but we don't dismiss them. We use them to feed Gilbert the information we want him to have. If we toss one out, he'll just suborn another that we haven't identified. No, we will leave his agents in place once we find them. We may have to move one or two around inside the Project if they are too dangerously placed but we don't get rid of them and we don't demote anyone without an ironclad reason!"

He leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk. "In a way, the problems we had during most of the war may turn out to be one of the best disguised blessings around. We are just now beginning to see a real hope that Kayla's idea will work. I've buried myself here since Bloody Valentine. So have you pretty much too. I know the staff generally thinks this Project is my be-and-end-all reason for continuing to exist. The spy or spies here should mostly think that too. It shouldn't be all that hard to keep up that impression."

"Work and your grandson as your only reasons left for living?" Serin asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, that's right. When you consider our outside-the-Project moves lately, they were all about Adrian weren't they? So they would actually reinforce the image here."

"Where are you going with this Roland?"

"Mistletoe killing an oak – Rats gnawing cables in two –

Moths making holes in a cloak – How they must love what they do!

Yes - and we Little Folk too. We are as busy as they –

Working our works out of view - Watch and you'll see it someday."

"I believe you called those instructions earlier and under the circumstances, they're good ones. So that's the screen we will hide behind. Let Gilbert think I've become obsessed with my drive to establish us as a secure and soundly reproductive population. He understands obsessions; he's been working on his for decades after all. And if I appear to have no other interest, he'll believe it. After all, with Mai gone, all I am is a pathetic, lonely old man. He never did understand that I could live on my own; that I did before Mai and I have since she's been gone."

He looked away. "I miss her more than that bastard will ever know but that doesn't mean I'm helpless without her. Still, back when we were all connected to Hibiki's project, Mai was my go-between with the outside world. Not because I couldn't handle it but because it was easier to let her do it. She was always much better with people in everyday situations than I was. It was our division of labor you see. But that isn't what Dullindal saw. He saw dependency. He chided me about it more than once."

He turned back to her, a rather ugly little smile on his face. "So you see, that's how he will remember me. And that's what I'll give him now. An obsessed old man who uses his daughter-in-law to face the world for him in place of his lost wife while he lives in his lab. Think you can deal with that?"

She sat back and thought about it. It had much to be said for it really. It wouldn't involve much if any change in their behavior for one thing. That would be important with unknown eyes watching. It would let Roland growl at Gilbert toothlessly and accept his largess at the same time to benefit the Project. It would give that man a reason to feel smug around them. And you rarely paid close enough attention to those who let you feel smug.

Very importantly, it would give her primary control of when and how outside contact was made. She had professional society meetings she went to regularly and people she interacted with beyond the Project on a normal basis. She was the one who rode herd on Adrian as well. When the babies were born, it would not be out of line if she became something of a doting grandmother and visited often. Yes, this had many possibilities.

"I like this." She told him honestly.

"Heh, thought you would." He grinned mirthlessly.

"But you will need some reason to go out occasionally yourself. You must not be so bottled up here that to leave is automatically suspicious. It might be vital to have you be able to meet someone or pick something up instead of me sometime. What besides genetics and Adrian could you use as a reason to go out?"

"The Advancement Society." He replied immediately. "Not only are there meetings to go to if the topic looks interesting, there are labs to visit and even gardens, farms or release events. I've been a member for sixty-eight years, I do go to some of those events, and I have continued to do so even through the war. It's really been my only outside activity so it's the one we _have_ to go with."

"Ah, yes. I tend to forget them."

"You don't like them." He pointed out calmly. "They're actively engaged in major genetic alteration of just about every kind of living thing there is. But that's exactly why it is so logical that I would keep contact with them, now isn't it?"

Serin grimaced. "Yes, I can't argue about that."

"Besides, Gilbert is also a member. Makes it easy for him to meet me if he wants a small talk sometime. And if he's going to be issuing threats like this, he'll want the occasional chat too. He's always been too damn sure he could read me."

"Are you sure he's wrong?" She asked, deadly serious.

He looked over at her flatly. "Yes. To this day, he has no idea how much I knew of what went on at Mendel. I wouldn't be here if he did. Mind, one of the things I've learned from the few sections of Joel's old data I've been able to open yet is how much more was going on that I hadn't a clue about too. We're going to need to get someone over there to strip that place and we need to do it soon."

"One crisis at a time please." Serin said firmly.

He shook his head. "We don't have that luxury. Gilbert or someone else who was part of that hellspawned project is going to get the same idea before long if they haven't already. We can't wait. I need you to get in touch with your Junk Guild friend again. We can't do this ourselves and, for obvious reasons, we can't involve any Plant resources. The only other people we could trust would be the Aube but they're just too tied up in the critical initial rebuilding phase. It'll have to be the Guild again."

"That won't come cheap!"

"It never does when it really matters dear."

"How do we pay for something that large?"

He grinned, an expression that wouldn't have looked out-of-place on a weasel. "When we were there, I checked a few things. Blue Cosmos never found the cash vaults and no one's been back to empty them. We'll just let the Hibiki Project pay for most of it."

She stared at him helplessly. It was moments like this that reminded her he really was a genius. And that Kayla Grayhawk was wrong. When he wanted to, Roland Ito could do very well indeed outside his chosen field. He just didn't want to very often.

"Very well, just what do you mean by 'strip the place'? I will need to understand what services I'm negotiating for."

"Just what it sounds like." He answered. "I want every scrap of paper with anything at all written on it. I want every data storage unit they can find that isn't completely slagged. I want anything else they find that strikes them as interestingly different that they can move out of there. And then I want them to destroy what they can't move. Most specifically, I want all of the artificial wombs reduced to unrecognizable scrap and the dead in them cremated completely."

"Roland?" She asked uncertainly.

He stared at nothing. "One of Joel's records suggests pretty clearly that there were more than two clones made for Al Flaga. How many, it didn't say. Nor did it tell me where they are stored. Another noted that there were 'other' products of the Ultimate Coordinator project. They were considered failures but they were born alive and the notes did not indicate they had been disposed of. Again, no record of how many or where they went. I told Kira Yamato he was the only live one. I told him he was unique. I lied to the boy."

"You did not lie. You gave him the truth as you knew it when you spoke to him." Serin studied her hands. "Now you have to decide if you are going to give him this new truth."

"No. I can't. I don't have enough data to give him. All I can do at this point is upset him. I can't even tell him enough to help him defend himself if one of them comes looking for him. That's why we have to strip Mendel as soon as possible though. Or the data will be gone for good."

"Yes I see. We will need very secure storage facilities as well. The records recovered could be quite voluminous."

He shook his head. "We will have them copied on site on a Probex System. That way the data will be compacted and the originals can be destroyed with everything else right there at Mendel. I would love to save them but it's just too dangerous to try. Because you're right, there'll be a lot of them. And that much stuff in storage, no matter where we put it, will attract someone's attention. It wouldn't even have to be Gilbert either. Even another Junk Guilder who was looking for information to sell could be a disaster. We're going to have a hard enough time just keeping the data storage units safe. We'd never manage to secure the paper."

She frowned. "Are you sure? Copies are never as good as the originals. Details are lost."

"That's why it must be done with a Probex. It makes four copies of each page; natural light, x-ray, infrared, and ultraviolet. It's fast too. I reduced that journal Kayla found on Rau to Probex record in less than twenty minutes, including both covers. If I'd been willing to spread it across several files, I could have completed it in a couple of minutes. The Probex we have will do eight of those journals at a time. The one I want to send to Mendel will be able to handle twenty inputs at once."

"I see." She looked around. "I suppose we must store the data in here then too. This office has always been swept to keep out any sort of probe. I suggest we use it for all discussions of a sensitive nature as we have no excuse to establish a second such site within the Project. Not even my office is this secure."

"Agreed, and Serin, I want to borrow that book, the one that Morrison fella wrote. I think I need to understand where Gilbert is coming from there."

"I'll bring it over." She looked hard at him. "Are you going to let him give you those genetic samples?"

Roland nodded. "Oh yes, I most certainly am. I'm an obsessed old man, remember? All I care about is my genetics project and my grandson. Oh, and maybe the great-grandchildren but we'll have to see how that fits into the whole image thing as we go along. Or didn't you notice his implication that I don't care where I get my materials as long as they measure up to standards?"

"I saw it." She replied distastefully.

His eyes hardened to glittering gold. "I'll take his samples all right Serin. And if they're as good as he claims, I'll use them too. Because he's not completely wrong about me. I am somewhat obsessed you know. I do intend to live long enough to ensure there is a program up and running that will take us from being the creations of the lab to genuinely reproductive humans. And won't be done using Hibiki's soulless, inhuman way either! We may not become a true, separate species, but I will see us viable before I die! If Dullindal has the material I need for that, I'll take it if he's fool enough to offer it!"

Serin Chu Ito met those gold eyes with gem hard peridot eyes of her own as she nodded a slow agreement. Their mutual smiles were not something Gilbert would have found reassuring at all. But then, he had no child or grandchild of his own to protect either. He'd seriously underestimated the reaction his one page letter would get.

* * *

"LAWRENCE!" Howard Grayhawk roared. "Shut up!"

Kayla stopped snarling instantly. She hadn't realized Pop was there. It was pretty obvious Larry hadn't known he was either. She turned her head slightly to look, and swallowed hard. Oh, man oh man, he was _mad_!

Howard Grayhawk might be past sixty but those years had all been lived actively. He was still tall, rawboned, ruggedly handsome, and fully capable of taking his son's head off right at the shoulders. He was just about pissed enough to do it too.

"I've had it with you boy!" He snarled. "I don't care how stupid your sister's being, you don't talk like that in front of your mother or your brother's children! I've tried polite, I've tried father-to-son, I've tried straight up orders; you've stayed deaf. Well you better hear this! You let one more cuss word out of your mouth and I'm throwing you out! You can celebrate Thanksgiving with those Blue Cosmos friends of yours if you can't stay civil in my house! I'll not have your mother crying over your mouth one more time! Do you hear me?"

"ME!" Larry screamed. "Why are you threatening me Pop? I'm not the one who fucked some …."

"GET OUT!" Pop's shout rattled the windows. "THAT WAS YOUR LAST CUSS WORD RIGHT THERE BOY! PACK AND GET OUT NOW! AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU CAN KEEP A CIVIL TOUNGE IN YOUR HEAD! TWO WEEKS OF THIS IS TWO WEEKS TOO MANY! AT LEAST YOUR SISTER KEEPS HER MOUTH SHUT!"

Pop had an audience now. Maria, Jamie, Mom and both grandmothers appeared from the kitchen. Carol, Jamie's wife, and the kids along with Todd, Alys, Crystal, and Douglas came dashing in from the living room. Kayla knew the other two were out tending the stock so this was everyone in the house at the moment; all here to see Larry get humiliated. Oh, this was going to cause so much trouble!

"Mom!" Larry appealed to a higher authority.

"What Lawrence? Are you expecting me to change your father's mind?" Janet Grayhawk asked evenly. "Because I assure you that is not going to happen. I won't try. I'm fed up with your taking your failed marriage out on your sister. Yes, she made a very bad decision. But it isn't a uniquely bad one after all. Intelligent women have fallen for pretty male faces for centuries and landed in this same trouble for it. Nor is it your place to be her judge or the judge of the baby. But most of all, I'm disgusted with your complete lack of self control. I did not raise you to talk like that! I most certainly didn't give you leave to use such language in front of your niece and nephew! They are impressionable children! No, you are the one who refuses to behave Lawrence. Everyone else is being civil at the very least. Only you are raving and screaming and upsetting the peace. So you are the one who will leave. I will have quiet under this roof! Even if I have to evict my own son to achieve it!"

She turned and fixed a steely eye on her eldest surviving son. "Jamie, you and Douglas will supervise Lawrence. Make sure he is properly packed and that he leaves within the hour. I really don't care where he chooses to stay as long as it is off Double Hawk property. No one is to mention this again! Lawrence brought this on himself. He's the one who has gone out of his way to seek out his sister to badger and abuse her at every opportunity. She has tried to stay out of his way and to avoid offending him. Since he chooses to be offended just because she exists, he can do it somewhere else!"

"Kayla," her mother added without turning to look at her, "you will take Jamie's place helping your grandmother in the kitchen."

"Yes Mom." She agreed immediately.

"Is there some reason everyone's standin' round here with their thumbs up their butts?" Howard snapped.

"No sir!" Came the reply from just about everyone except the grandmothers and, of course, Larry.

The family scattered. Kayla whipped into the kitchen just as Larry exploded. She heard about three words before she heard her father's hard hand connect with Larry's face. This wasn't going to be good for anyone in the long run. He'd always been one to carry a grudge and to wait however long it took to get even. She hoped Pop remembered that. Because Larry was not going to forgive or forget _this_.

"This won't help much." First Kay muttered.

"He's your son, you tell him." Maria Spotted Horse replied quietly. "He's in no mood to hear reason from his mother-in-law."

"Howe's in no mood to hear reason from anyone." The elder Kayla Grayhawk replied flatly. "He's lost his temper and there'll be no reasoning with him until he finds it again."

"Dad's temper may matter a lot less than Larry's." Kayla pointed out to her grandmothers. "He's never going to forgive this, you know he won't. And Larry gets even. To the point of excess and way beyond."

"I know." First Kay replied. "And your parents have sent him off to play with that shiftless bunch that makes up the local Blue Cosmos group. Those five boys are all game for anything nasty that lets them act like they matter."

"Larry brings them up to six." Maria noted thoughtfully, absently tapping her cane on the floor. "Tell me Kay, have you seen any more of them in the smoke?"

"No, what have you seen in the water?"

"Same number."

"Interesting. And Charlie gave us six when we asked him too."

"So all the Spirits are agreed then."

"It would seem they are."

"And you get three for the Light?"

"Same as you and Charlie, yep."

"Then we must hope they are enough."

"Oh, they will be." The elder Kayla smiled grimly and turned to her namesake granddaughter. "Do you think you can start peeling those potatoes? They mash better with the skins off you know."

"Yes, of course." Kayla grabbed the potato peeler and a chair to settle in for a while.

She didn't understand all of what she'd just heard but the basics were clear enough. Both grandmothers, and Charlie Yellow Dog apparently, were expecting Larry and his Blue Cosmos friends to cause trouble. They saw three opponents in the family ready to stand against Larry.

Damn it! She hadn't come home to start something like this! Just being here was tearing her family apart. And now, now the Spirits were telling the Medicine people that there was going to be a fight. She had to leave before that could happen. She could not allow Larry to bring Blue Cosmos here, to attack the family over her presence.

Tomorrow was Thanksgiving. Friday was the twin's birthday. She would head for Aube on Saturday morning. She knew those lazy incompetents who made up the local Blue Cosmos; they wouldn't get an attack together before Tuesday at the earliest no matter how Larry prodded. Kayla nodded at the potato she was denuding; this would solve everything and keep everyone safe. She'd start packing tonight, right after dinner.

* * *


	34. Chapter 34

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Ok, sorry I'm a bit late. Work has been hectic and will continue to be a zoo for at least the next couple of weeks. Updates may be erratic for a while.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The sweet smell of sage came with the smoke. The only light in the small lodge came from the tiny fire he fed so carefully. One hand kept the pulse of the Spirit Drum unbroken. He chanted softly now; he could feel the vision gathering around him. It would show itself to him very soon now. Yes!

_A young golden eagle fell from the stars, wings spread wide. He was met on landing by a red Thunderbird and together they flew to join a blue and white Thunderbird. The power of the Thunderbirds was dim, muted for this time. He understood that they could take no active part in what was to come. They could advise the eagle but they could not fight for him._

_An even younger snow white jay and a bounding kit fox pup raced from the stars, following the eagle, determined he should not be alone. They too were met by the red Thunderbird and taken to join the eagle at the home of the blue and white Thunderbird. The eagle was not pleased to see them. The jay stood unflinching at the eagle's screaming attacks but the kit fox pup bounced, snarled and jumped back at the eagle until he was too worn to fight them any longer._

_Others came to the aid of the eagle. The Winged Whale's Child, whose song was heard from ocean to star, advised him. The cunning Wolf found him teachers. The Daughter of Lions opened her territory to him. The Spirit Seeker was ever there when his heart darkened. And the twined Thunderbirds stood beside him always, lending him all they could, making sure the jay and the kit fox were as prepared as the eagle for what was to come. The time spent there was short. Yet when they left to begin their journey, the eagle was somehow a bit larger, the jay slightly older, and the kit fox no longer such a pup._

_They came to the chanter's land, where his own Spirits could watch them. His vision saw them much more clearly now. They moved over his lands lightly. Their dealings with the people they met were honorable. They were quick to avoid trouble. But they would not be able to evade it forever._

_Two different items showed themselves to the chanter. One would save the eagle. The other would grant him swift death. It was the chanter's duty to choose which to give him. He was shown the questions to be asked and the answers he would need to help him make his choice._

The visions slipped back into smoke. The fire flickered again in front of his eyes. He finished the chant and let the drum fall silent. He had all he needed now. It was time to let the fire burn down to ash. The boy and his friends would be here in the morning.

* * *

"I like this country." Voril Joule remarked as he drove the sturdy but unremarkable rental van out of the ranch drive. "It's as honest as the people who live here."

"It's rather bleak though." Yuri replied, eyes taking in the late autumn landscape.

"You think so?" Voril looked around them happily. "It's so clean here, the bones of the planet show all around us. Everything isn't covered up with plants and buried under a few kilometers of soil. Everything you see means something, is a record of some event in the world's ancient history or part of the brief life of the seasons."

"It's unfortunate that there's no call for geologists in the Plants." Adrian noted. "You seem fascinated by the subject."

"I discovered dinosaurs on a very early trip with the family to Chicago. There's nothing quite like being six and walking in the door of a museum to find a Tyrannosaurs Rex lunging at you to get your permanent attention." Voril admitted. "I've been interested in the earth sciences ever since. Somehow, it just isn't the same when you think of studying out in the asteroid belt. I mean, yes, its rocks and all. But you need a helmet and spacesuit and you can't really touch anything until you've brought it into a lab and made sure it was decontaminated. Here I could pull over anytime and touch whatever I saw."

"I wouldn't." Yuri said dryly. "It might be another rattlesnake. While being poisoned might not kill you, it wouldn't be much fun either."

"You know what I meant!"

"I'm sure he did." Adrian cut in before the two of them could get to squabbling. "But you have to admit you really didn't pay enough attention there. You were very lucky not to have been bitten. Rattlesnakes aren't the only things out here you shouldn't just go around petting like kittens either. So while I grasp the idea, I suggest a more thoughtful word choice if you don't want to be open to more barbs, eh?"

"Yes sir, I understand." Voril groused.

"So, Yuri, how are we doing with your wool buying? Can we stop now and just head for Kayla's yet?" Adrian asked.

"We're doing well and no. There are two more names on the old list I have to check off in this area before it would be logical for a real Lubbek buyer to leave. I told you I have to investigate every former seller! We even planned this route to make sure it passed the fewest possible on the way to Kayla's. But the people who are keeping an eye on us know who sold to Dad before the war too and they know Dad would offer his contracts there first before he took on any new deals. We're stuck with visiting or at least calling them all."

"Did your family ever buy wool from the Grayhawks?" Voril asked. "I don't recall you mentioning them on your lists. What reason would we have to go out there if they've never sold to Lubbek Imports?"

"You know, I didn't think they had either. But that message I got from Mom yesterday morning says we did buy a small trial lot of pure black Merino from them. Most of what we import goes for industrial uses but a small amount is used for textiles. The Merino was intended for the Textile Group. Mom found the appraisal sheet for the Grayhawk wool a couple days ago. Apparently it was of very good quality and had a buy recommend on it. She wants me to see what other natural colors they have and how fine the best of their white is. So, yes, we have a solid reason to look up the Double Hawk."

"Did you tell her we might not have a chance to talk wool there? That this might be one real fast in and out depending on how hostile the family turns out to be?"

Yuri just watched the muted colors of the landscape for several seconds before he answered his Captain's pained questions. "No, Adrian, I didn't. Because I don't want to accept that it will come to that."

They drove on a good forty kilometers before anyone said anything more. It had been a busy morning already. They'd arrived at the sheep ranch at eight on the dot, long after the rancher had been up and far too late to be offered breakfast. The timing was deliberate on Yuri's part. The family was Naturals; he didn't want to put them in any position where they thought they were obliged to offer any hospitality to Coordinators they didn't choose to. It was more than enough to be invited in and offered just coffee and a chance to make a deal on the autumn shearing.

It was small courtesies like that, and the honest report that he'd lost the eye to a ZAFT GINN – without any mention that the pilot was a deranged member of his own Team – that had smoothed the way for Yuri's buying trip. It hadn't hurt that it was the son of the importer who had come to renew the contacts either. His two bodyguards, with their rather exotic western Pacific version of the Dreyfus uniform and their unfailing politeness were also assets. He had actually already met the very modest goals his father had had for a trip that really wasn't about the wool business at all.

Voril rolled his shoulders, working at a kink they'd developed when another, more pleasant concept interrupted his thoughts. "Is anybody but me hungry?"

"I could eat." Adrian agreed from where he was lounging across the back seat.

"Something cold to drink would be nice." Yuri decided. "What's marked as the next likely spot on the map?"

Adrian unfolded the almost indestructible sheet for this section of the trip Kisaka had supplied them back in Aube. They had maps like this for every section they were planning to travel through and for many surrounding areas in case they were forced to alter plans on the fly. He gave it a careful study to be sure he knew exactly where they were before answering.

"It looks like there is a general store and fuel stop just a few more kilometers up the road. The 'shopping opportunity' symbol is there too although it isn't a town so I've no idea what it's there for."

"Well, we can give it a once-over." Voril said slightly dubiously. "We have found a couple of those places that had decent food and that didn't try to throw us out before we could refuel."

"Worth a try." Yuri agreed. "If it looks too unpromising, how far is it to the next real town?"

"Uhm, looks about a hundred k. On this road, at least an hour and a half."

"That's not too far." Voril said cheerfully. "I won't die of starvation before then."

Yuri just looked at him. "Where do you put it all? I swear, you're going to eat the Atlantic Federation into submission by causing local famines! How can you stay so skinny when you out-eat both of us?"

"I'm a growing boy." Voril replied primly. "I know because my Mom told me so."

"Oh spare me!" Adrian dropped flat on the back seat. "I'm getting indigestion now."

"Don't start you two!" Yuri snapped. "The truck stop or whatever it is they call these things isn't all that far off. I don't need to arrive with you guys in the middle of one of your one-upsmanship contests!"

"Yuri, how old are you?" Voril asked, a bit irritated.

"Calendar or mental?" He returned coldly.

"Never mind."

Adrian decided it was a bad time to laugh and managed to hold it down to a wide grin. Fortunately, no one was looking at him or it might still have cause ripples. He didn't sit back up until he had his face under control.

When he did, they were just rolling over the top of a ridgeline. A broad, fairly shallow river basin came into view ahead of them. The road cut through it in a thin white line that moved in the sinuous curves of a snake. It jumped the water over a smallish bridge only a few kilometers ahead and vanished momentarily behind a surprisingly thick stand of trees on the high side of the riverbank.

"Well, I guess the place we're looking for will be near the trees because it's marked as close to the river and the bridge." Adrian told his companions as he studied the map again.

His guess was correct. The place was surprisingly large and even more surprisingly, prosperous looking. Although it clearly had grown in sections over time, it was in good repair and neatly painted. The parking area was recently paved and the fuel pumps looked new. So did the sign mounted across the face of the center section announcing this to be Charlie Yellow Dog's General Store and Pawnshop.

"Charlie Yellow Dog?" Yuri muttered. "That can't have been an easy name to grow up with."

"Not if he was among the Anglos, no." Voril agreed. "But it's nothing bad as a Native name. Or at least that's what I was told when I was a kid."

"You've been here before?"

"Here, no. But I've been in the area and there are a lot of Native names that wouldn't be all that great to have to grow up with in other societies that are just normal here. I mean, would you want to be called Manygoats or Killed Deer?"

"You're making those up." Yuri said in disbelief.

"No I'm not. Manygoats is a name you'll find among the Navaho and I met a Chippewa who's name was Steven Killed Deer up in Michigan when I was eight. If you think the Native names here are interesting, you should really look at some they still use in China. You get out in the back country there and some of the old beliefs about jealous spirits have stuck people with some horrible names. Yellow Dog is great next to being called Pig Urine."

Adrian and Yuri both stared at him. "Now you really are joking!"

"Not in the slightest. His grandmother was terrified the spirits would be jealous of her family's good fortune at having three sons and demanded they call him that to save him from their evil attentions." Voril shrugged. "They were a backwards little community way out in the western Chinese desert. He was hardly the only one there with an appalling name either. Those people were scared to death of both the government and the spirits. They didn't even know what a Coordinator was! They wanted Dad to leave because he was poking around the old Silk Road fort and they just knew he was going to get the demons that lived there mad at them for letting him do it."

"Did you go?"

"Oh yeah. When the odds are thirty locals to one Coordinator, yeah Dad left. Especially since Mom and I were with him. Besides, the fort had pretty good documentation already. He was just there to do his own eyeballing. He'd already seen most of what he wanted to when the first of the locals arrived and he'd finished by the time things got ugly."

"Your father took some reckless chances with your family's lives, you know that?"

"Maybe. But we went an awful lot of interesting places." Voril noted with a nostalgic smile.

"Yes, I'm sure you did." Adrian brought them back to the present cheerfully. "But we're here for that food you wanted. Pick out a parking spot and lets see about getting some."

Voril didn't have to be reminded twice. He pulled into a spot in front of the general store side of the place. As he did, the only other car in the lot pulled out. Adrian wasn't sorry to see it go. It cut down the chances for trouble every time you reduced the number of people they had to interact with. Despite the Dreyfus uniforms, there had still been several places where three unmistakable Coordinators hadn't been welcome at all. He locked the car doors when he noticed Voril had overlooked that detail and followed the other two into the store.

* * *

The only customers had made their purchases and were just dawdling their way out the door. Charlie sighed quietly and sent young Nathan off to get his lunch. It was time to get the boy out of the way anyhow. He would not be an asset when the eagle, the jay, and the fox pup got here. The kid took off like he'd been given the rest of the week as vacation instead of just a lunch hour. The old man grinned toothlessly as the boy dashed out the back to grab his bike. Nathan's girl was home from the Army. He'd be very late getting back today and for once he wouldn't be in trouble for it.

That left the place to old May Whitehorse and himself. And he'd already warned May that he would be doing Spirit work in here this afternoon. She'd feed the boys and as soon as they wandered into his side of the place, she'd take her own meal and a good book out back under the trees. Nor would she come back until he turned the back light on to let her know he was done. He already knew he could trust Roadrunner and Armadillo to keep any other humans from stopping by until everything they shouldn't see was cleared away.

The dawdling customers finally left. As they opened the door though, Charlie saw Roadrunner look in and nod once before dashing off. So, they were here. He leaned back in his high backed, well-padded stool and looked into the general store, curious as to just what they actually looked like. The visions had only shown him their spirit forms.

The fox pup was the first through the door. He was a fairly tall, quite lean boy dressed in that semi-ZAFT style uniform of white boots, red pants and jet black tunic-coat with its trademark belt sporting their intertwined D and S buckle that Dreyfus Security had made famous throughout the western Pacific and the movie industry had made well-known everywhere else. He had pale gray hair, short around the face but just past the shoulders in back and large, darker gray eyes that had a lively curiosity in them. The eyes were somewhat almond shaped although he didn't look in the slightest oriental. Good, broad cheekbones, long straight fox-type nose and a sharply pointed fox chin under a neat but small mouth. Charlie almost grinned. Damned if that boy's ears weren't just about pointed too! A kit fox pup indeed!

The young man behind him was dressed in local Western business casual. Not quite as tall as the young fox nor as excessively lean, he was still a striking boy. He looked better in person than he had in Kayla's pictures. Hospital gowns and bandages hadn't flattered him. Dark, metallic gray hair that shaded close to black fell across his right eye and tumbled to his shoulders. The one visible eye was a vivid, robin's egg blue. Then he turned his head slightly and Charlie realized there was only one eye. The other socket was covered by a patch that nearly matched the hair. He had a pale complexion and a warm smile. But until he caught the eye clearly, he saw nothing to show him the white jay.

When he met that single eye, he understood. The bright curiosity of the corbie glittered there. So did the innate distrust for strange situations that was another hallmark of the corbies. White Jay might only have one eye but it missed nothing. He was the alert sentinel, ready to cry warning at any need.

The golden eagle followed the younger two in. Ah, yes, this was Kayla's ZAFT boy all right. He was taller than the other two but only a bit heavier in build, and that most likely because he was a year or two older and had filled out a smidge more. The Dreyfus uniform looked damned good on the Fox, it was outright imposing on the Eagle. Where the pup still moved like one at times and the jay showed slight signs of the injuries that must have gone with the loss of the eye, the eagle was all fluid grace in motion. Charlie snorted very quietly as he realized the boy had the amber-gold eyes of a raptor too. Oh, yeah, it was easy to see what the first attraction had been for Kayla with this one!

The boys vanished into the depths of the store, headed for the small deli in the very back. Charlie listened closely but heard nothing other than May's occasional cackle of laughter. At least one of them had a pretty decent sense of humor given how often he heard it. Then he could hear her heavy tread as she came up to talk to him.

"Nice boys." May announced as she settled her bulk into the other seat behind the checkout counter. "Pretty too. It's a shame that one's lost an eye. They're all Coordinators aren't they?"

"Yep. Tain't nothing to worry about though. They got better things to be doin' than botherin' us."

"Thought they might. That tall one, with the dark chestnut hair, he's almighty anxious to get someplace. He's gonna hafta wait a bit though. Its gonna take that skinny kid a while to go through all that food he ordered." She shook her head with a grin. "He's gonna be lettin' that belt out a bit when he's done with this meal!"

Charlie grinned. "Fox pup thinks he's starvin' does he? Well, boys tend to that when they hit his age. I'm kinda amazed the other two ain't joinin' him. They ain't that much older'n him."

"Oh, they aren't gonna starve either." May laughed. "They just aren't gonna need to be lettin their belts out so bad."

"Where'd they set up?"

"They went out back, under the trees. From the way they was lookin' round, you'd think they all grew up on one of those Plant places and hadn't ever seen dry country before."

"Dependin' on where they are from, they might not have. The two of 'em are dressed like they was from Aube or Oceania maybe. That third one, can't tell from his clothes. But since he's hired them from way out there, he ain't no local either."

May looked at him questioningly. "Charlie, why would the Spirits care about three foreign Coordinator boys? Tisn't like they were gonna stay round here for them to worry about."

"No, they ain't stayin'. But something one of 'em is gonna try to do will affect some of our people. The Spirits want to know a bit more about these boys before they get where they're goin'. They seem like honest kids but even the honest ones can make real bad mistakes without meanin' to."

"Ah!" She nodded, understanding completely or so she thought. Charlie didn't bother to correct her. May understood enough to keep her content and out of the way now. Although it was very interesting to him to note that she'd taken to the three Coordinator kids so quickly. She didn't warm to strangers like this often. He was seriously looking forward to meeting them now. May'd had her say; she took herself back to her deli kitchen where she was queen and only the ignorant and the idiots questioned it.

Charlie plugged in the hot plate and started slowly warming up the first of the drinks he had ready for the three boys. He was going to be sending them on a vision quest, on fast forward as they had no time for the traditional days of fasting, dancing and prayer. So they were going to need some help reaching the proper mental state quickly. His small pot soon gave off a clean, somewhat sweet scent. He wondered if he was going to have any trouble getting them to try it. If they'd over-eaten as badly as May suggested, they might not have much room left for the drugged herbal tea.

It was a good half an hour before the first one showed up. He wasn't particularly surprised that it was the young fox following his expansive curiosity into the pawnshop side of the place either. This boy hadn't learned how dangerous it was to indulge that curiosity yet. Charlie did have to suppress a grin though as he noted that May had been right, the kid had definitely had to let that fancy belt out a bit here.

Then the boy surprised him. He'd gotten maybe ten feet past the door when he stopped. The gray eyes began to widen in shock and the mouth actually dropped open. Awe followed the shock. His gaze locked on a display case in front of him with a collection of very old Kachina dolls neatly set out, museum-like description sheets beside each. He managed the five steps needed to get close and went to his knees in front of it, face almost touching the protective glass.

"Holy . . . . ! They're real!"

One hand came up, visibly shaking slightly. He didn't touch the glass but Charlie watched him read each sheet and almost drink in the essence of each of the Kachinas. Now where had a Coordinator boy from the Plants learned to know about Kachinas? More to the point, where had he come to appreciate them to the point of near worship?

To the old shaman's fascination, the Kachinas welcomed the boy's regard. That was even more surprising that the kid's knowledge. For these weren't made-for-tourist items. These were, as the Fox had so quickly realized, the real thing; ceremonial Kachinas that had actually been used for a good two hundred years.

"Voril? What's wrong?"

The Jay stood in the doorway, eye darting about, seeking the danger that he thought must be here to have put his friend in such a state. The quiet image of an insignificant businessman was gone. Here was a veteran soldier of the ZAFT now, ready to move on whatever enemy was present.

"They're real, Yuri! A lot of this stuff is real! This is so wrong!" The boy cried.

"What?" The Jay was confused now but still on the lookout for any enemy.

"This is the history of a people here, Yuri. And it shouldn't be." The Eagle said quietly as he also looked around him. "These things are heritage items, the kind of things you never part with."

"What did we do?" The Fox whispered, barely loudly enough for even Charlie's unusually keen ears to hear him. "When we sent down the n-jammers, what did we do? I never thought this would come of it. These belong in someone's hogan or kiva, not here for sale!"

The shaman decided it was time to start the testing. "When the choice is lose the land or sell the Kachina boy, ya part with yer heritage in the hope ya can hold on to enough to have a future. The past won't feed the kids today."

Amber-gold raptor eyes turned to him, anger and no little guilt in their depths. "That may be reality sir, it doesn't make it right. I'm not the historian Voril is but even I know most of the heritage of the people these things belong to has already been lost to them. It's just wrong to see them lose the rest."

Charlie shrugged. "I ain't gonna argue with ya there. But wrong or not, it don't change what's real, an' that's no jobs, no money, but the bills keep commin'. They gotta be paid somehow. People sold the small stuff first, hopin' it'd be enough. Then the war dragged on and it weren't. The decisions got harder an' harder but the present usually wins out over the past. Ain't many folks gonna starve to death or get throwed off their land just to keep these things. Not when the 'things' can save their lives an' the land both. I hear they got something called an n-jammer canceller now and they'll be gettin' the nuke plants back on-line afore long. It'll take a while before the economy round here picks up but once the energy comes back, the jobs'll follow it. Then this'll stop."

"That may take a long while." The Jay said quietly. "It's easier to leave than to come back."

"Yes, once a business migrates, it almost never migrates back. It will have made new connections in the new location and have a whole new workforce trained in. Dad's theory about the economic roots of migration may not be real solid when it comes to individual people but it is pretty good as a business model." The Fox was sitting rather dejectedly on the floor now.

"Enough Voril. No one here had anything to do with starting the war. Nor did we have anything to do with making the decisions that resulted in the wrecked economy around here. That isn't our guilt. We have enough things we did do to be guilty about if we want to wallow around it that destructive emotion. We don't need to borrow the big ones we had no hand in." The Eagle said firmly.

"Biting you that hard is it?" The Fox asked softly before he turned to stare at the Kachinas again.

"Joule, shut up!" The Jay snapped, but he too had a darkly introspective look to him.

"Ain't boys yer age who start the wars." Charlie said, letting a weariness he didn't really feel color his voice. "Ya just get to fight 'em. The fellas who pick the fights don't die in 'em real often."

"Azriel did." The Eagle said bitterly. "But the price was too high."

"Always is." Charlie agreed grimly.

"Trading the Hawk for that bit of garbage and the _Dominion_ wasn't a good enough deal."

Interesting, Kayla's boy really was angry about that loss. Charlie wondered who this 'Hawk' had been.

"Mu La Flaga knew what he was doing Adrian. He knew the Strike was damaged. He knew it was a full shot from a positron cannon when he put the mobile suit in front of it." The Jay turned his single, deeply unhappy eye on his friend. "Let it go. It was his decision. Don't begrudge Mu his choice to save Murrue Ramius. You would have done the same if it had been Kayla on _Archangel_'s bridge and you in the mobile suit."

"I'm not the Hawk of Endymion. It isn't the same thing."

"Now you're being stupid." The Fox said bluntly as he slowly stood up. "Who isn't important. It's what they did and what it cost that matters in the end. Because when you break it all out, that's how you have to tally win and lose in any battle. I may have graduated too late to see any action, but that doesn't mean I didn't learn anything while I was going through school."

"Who you lose is part of the cost Voril. And in the case of someone like Mu, the name is worth far more in the military equation than one life." The Eagle told him.

These _ZAFT_ kids regretted the death of the Hawk of Endymion? The Eagle and the Jay both sounded like they'd actually known the man too. Charlie decided he wanted this story someday. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to worm it out of them today.

"Ya boys drink tea?" He asked them harshly, realizing they'd just handed him a nearly perfect opportunity.

"Eh?" The Jay replied as all three stared at him.

"Got some tea I'm tryin' out here. _That_ man deserves a toast an' the tea's all I got to hand."

"Pour it!" The Eagle ordered.

Charlie poured four modest mugs worth. Three were set with their handles out for the boys. The forth, his, had some additional materials in the bottom. He was going to be drinking the drugged tea right enough, and the antidote right along with it.

"To the Hawk!"

The four mugs touched lightly. The tea was good and warm but not really hot. All three boys downed the entire mugs contents before they carefully and firmly slapped them back on the counter. They stood silently for several seconds, just staring at the empty mugs, each somewhere else with his own thoughts.

Then the Jay gave a small shake and turned away. He walked off, then paused, apparently unsure where to go. Still, it wasn't long before the colors in the rugs hanging behind the security plexi lured him away to just stand and stare at the complex work.

The Fox drifted toward the front door and the stunning examples of beadwork displayed there. He was soon back down on his knees, face up against the glass as he studied it as closely as he could. It was clear he was going to be there for a while unless someone dragged him away.

Charlie watched as the Eagle was drawn to the jewelry. He seemed to have a good eye too. At least he was paying more attention to the best of the very old pieces than he did to the lesser, more recent work.

The three were now separated by a good thirty feet each. It was time to begin. He reached under the counter and turned on the sound system. He heard the chant and the drum because he was expecting them. The Coordinator boys could probably hear them as well if the stories about the kind of modifications done to make them were even close to truth. But they were all three more occupied inside their own skulls than outside them at the moment and the sounds were low enough not to even really ask for their notice.

But the chant and the drumbeat were both hypnotics. And those three boys were wide open to them at this moment. Charlie would be the first to admit he didn't know much about Coordinators. He'd only known a handful and none of those well. But one thing he had noticed was that they were just as susceptible to the tricks of the shaman's trade as any Natural; that in fact they could be even more vulnerable than a Natural because they picked up so much more of the world around them without always understanding what they were doing. And quiet discussions at the pow-wows with his fellow shamen had led him to suspect that if you could catch them off guard, they'd be dead easy to hypnotize.

He sat silently in his chair, letting chant, drum, and drug do their work. Fifteen minutes into the song, he lit a smudge bundle and put it in the heavy ceramic pot with the deep sand inside it he used to do this safely inside the shop. This was the companion for the tea. The combination should put them under quickly.

The Fox was closest to him and hit hardest by the smoke from the smudge. He slumped down in minutes, was laying curled on his side on the floor with his half-closed eyes unfocused in under ten, already started on his quest. Charlie could barely see the Spirit Fox that sat by his head, talking to him. Nor could he hear the young man's answers. He wondered if these Plant bred, man-made children would remember any of these meetings with the ancient Spirits of the Earth.

Across the room, Crow and Jay both stood with the hapless Yuri lying still between them, his head rolling slowly from side to side as he tried to follow who was talking to him at any one time. And across the way, Kayla's Adrian was slipping to his knees, eyes wide as he stared straight at Golden Eagle, a fascinating look of amazement, disbelief, shock, and longing on his face. The old man reached under the counter again and turned up the bass on the drums a bit. This was a rush job of a vision quest, it needed the help.

Time slipped by. Charlie checked each of the boys to be sure they were all right. Then he grabbed what he needed from the back and set about making up the 'hot toddy' they'd all need when they came out of it. Once he had that put together, he left if to simmer gently on the hotplate while he checked on things again.

Grandmother of Bears was holding young Joule like he was a cub, whispering something in his ear. Fox sat beside her, nodding his approval. The ancient shaman hoped the boy would remember whatever it was she told him. She didn't bother to advise many any more, he was more honored than he knew.

Beaver and Wolf were lecturing the Lubbek boy with Jay putting in his two cents every so often. He studied that with some unease. It wasn't a common pairing, especially to be teaching a corbie. They suggested not all the fighting was done for the boy yet.

But he stopped cold when he realized who was sitting with the Ito boy. Golden Eagle was still there of course. He was the boy's totem now. But sitting politely facing them both was Coyote. And from the energy he gave off, it was not a shadow sending either. It was Coyote himself, the Trickster; he who was both friend, and enemy, of Man.

Charlie sat down slowly. It had been over forty years since he'd last seen this One. Adrian Ito was either important in and of himself or he was destined to help those who were. Coyote did not visit lesser people any longer. There were too many of them in the world these days. Not even he could divide his attention that finely.

He had no idea how long the conversation between Ito, the Eagle and Coyote lasted. But as with all things, it did end. When it did, Coyote walked over to where Charlie sat and jumped up on the counter. He reached under it to tug on one of the two items placed there.

No words were exchanged. But Charlie understood. This was Ito's fate. This was what he must have to meet it. He bowed briefly to the Greater Power. When he looked up, the Spirits were all gone and the three boys were asleep on the floor.

First things first. Charlie turned the bass down again. The visions would be over now and it was trying to give him a headache. Then he picked up a large tray filled with small pieces of jewelry and walked over to the boy who would now and forever be called Laughing Fox by any who could see into the Spirit world. He had made his Journey, whether he'd ever intended to or not, he would need a talisman for his Spirit powers.

The shaman put the tray down beside the sleeping Fox. He reached over and gently shook his free shoulder once. Seconds later, that hand rose and began to pass over the tray. Suddenly, it fell.

Charlie lifted the boy's hand and set it gently back at his side. He took all three of the items that the palm had covered and put them on a separate tray of their own, spacing them out so that his choice would be unmistakable the next time. He set the large tray aside and ran the test again. This time the desired talisman was unmistakable. As it was already set up as a necklace, the shaman simply slipped it over the boy's head. He repeated the process with the other two and within minutes all three were wearing their new talismans.

The old man put the tray away and checked his 'toddy'. The restorative was ready but a bit hot. Well, it could be cut with water without losing any power if they drank it all. He measured out the dosages into clean cups and added enough ice water to make it drinkable.

Then he stood and considered the situation. This stuff worked pretty quickly. If he wasn't careful, he was going to have a very wide awake and probably pissed off Coordinator on his hands before he could get the drink into the last one. That would not be good for the boy who didn't get his share of 'toddy' as Charlie seriously doubted the newly awake one was going to just stand by and let him dose his buddy. Well, he was just going to have to do a bit more prep work then.

He picked up the cups and took one to each boy. Then he went back and propped each one of them up against whatever was handy that let him set them fairly upright with their head slightly back. When he was done with that he straightened the crick in his own back. This was work damn it! He was getting too old to be doing this alone anymore!

By the time he had them all ready, they were no longer so deeply asleep. Charlie was relieved to see it. It would make pouring liquids down their throats much safer.

The Fox was a very cooperative boy. He just drank what was held up to his mouth without fuss. The Jay was a pain in the butt. He had no plans to drink any more strange stuff, no sir! Lacking time to be nice about it, Charlie pinched his nose shut, forcing him to open his mouth to breathe. In between breaths, he got the restorative into him. The Eagle didn't want to drink any more strange liquids either but he gave in when the old man put a thumb on his jaw hinge and held it open. He had the last of it down the Eagle before the Fox could get up off the floor.

"What the hell did you do to us old man?" Voril Joule was a bit unsteady but he was up and going and would be damned dangerous if someone pushed him into a fight right now.

"What was necessary, Laughing Fox." Charlie replied calmly as he took the last cup back to the counter. "Yer a warrior of the ZAFT. No warrior should go into battle before he's been on his Journey an' knows his true name. Ya, at least, will get this in the right order. Yer friends are doing it backwards."

"What did you call me?" The boy was suddenly very wary.

Charlie sat down gratefully in his chair. He was honestly tired now but this wasn't over yet. He still had some explaining to do to these youngsters and one more item to get them to take with them.

"I called ya who and what ya are; Laughing Fox of the ZAFT." He waved a hand at Yuri and Adrian who were both awake and aware but not standing yet. "Yer friend with the one eye is White Jay and yer leader is Eagle's Heart. I've known Kayla Grayhawk since she was in diapers. I've seen the book of pictures she brought back with her. I was kinda expectin' to see Longsight with the Jay an' the Eagle since he was in some of them pictures. Ya wasn't in any of 'em."

"What are you?" Voril asked, eyes narrow with suspicion and something like dread.

"He's a crazy old goat. That's what he is." Adrian snarled as he staggered to his feet.

"Maybe, maybe not." His wing replied. "He's talking about warriors, Journeys and true names here. I think we have a problem."

"What kind?" Yuri asked, checking carefully for trouble.

"The magical kind that they believe in and we don't."

"Kindly make some sense here." Adrian snapped, clearly completely unsettled and very nervous.

"Boy's telling ya I'm a shaman, Eagle. An' it happens he's right." Charlie told him calmly.

"Yuri, what's that thing you're wearing?" Adrian suddenly asked.

"That's his Spirit talisman." Charlie answered for him. "An' if ya look, ya'll find ya got one too. So do ya, Fox. Ya keep those close now. I don't even recommend takin' 'em off to shower. They guard and keep yer spirit energy. An' I don't care if ya believe in it or not, I'm telling ya, ya got it now! Ya can do yerself a world of hurt tryin' to leave that behind."

"The hell you say!" Adrian Ito's eyes blazed.

My, my that boy was mad! He yanked the talisman over his head, stamped over and slapped it down in front of Charlie. Then he turned and walked away. The shaman started counting his steps under his breath. This boy had been talking to Coyote! His talisman glittered with the power that One had loaned to him. He wasn't going to get far before the talisman let him know it was not going to accept being abandoned.

He reached twelve when Ito suddenly grabbed his stomach and collapsed on the floor. The look he shot back toward the counter where he'd left the talisman held shock, disbelief and blind rage. The rage won.

He threw himself to his feet and tried to move forward. He managed another five staggering steps before his legs gave out under him. Charlie was impressed. He'd never seen anyone do more than two before. The other two ran over to help him. Oh, now they were going to be in trouble too.

The instant they touched Ito, both the Jay and the Fox dropped bonelessly beside him. Neither appeared able to move at all. Ito lay panting, eyes taking the situation in while his friends struggled to move. Even from where he sat, Charlie could see the rising panic as they realized they were effectively paralyzed.

Eagle's Heart might be angry and he might be stubborn but he wasn't stupid or cruel. He had no idea how this was being done but he did know how to make it stop. There was still fury in the eyes, a lot of it; nevertheless he accepted reality and turned back in surrender. It was only when he put the necklace back on however that his friends were released.

"Spirit power is real boy." Charlie told him quietly. "An' for some reason ya got some real role to play in this world. Get used to it, 'cause the Spirits'll make sure yer always in the right place at the right time for whatever it is yer needed to do."

"Why do your spirits give one rat's ass about me? I'm not one of your people."

"Don't know. But yer not the first who wasn't of the People they've took an interest in, not by a long shot. Yer not even the first of yer own kind they've marked out as destined. There's a pair of boys over to Aube right now who carry the power of Thunderbird. They used that power to help them destroy them nukes aimed at yer Plants not so long ago."

"Athrun and Kira?" Yuri asked, startled.

"That's the names, yep. Kayla had real nice pictures of them boys. That green eyed one, Athrun I think, he's gonna be a long time decidin' what he really needs from life. Other one's gotta learn there's folks out there just born bad. He's a warrior born an' he pretty desperately wishes he wasn't. But someone's gotta be there to keep the peace an' he's elected for this generation. Him and that Athrun kid. Even if they aren't always doin' it on the same side."

"Then what am I that your spirits have to meddle with me?" Adrian demanded.

"Like I said, don't know. Coyote didn't stop to tell me."

"WHO?" Voril yelped.

Charlie looked at him calmly. "Coyote."

"The Coyote? The Trickster God?"

"There's only one Coyote, boy."

"Want to clue me in?" Adrian asked, one eyebrow up.

"Coyote is the god of deception. This is both good and bad kinds of deception mind you. He is both friend and enemy to humans. When Coyote enters the picture, everything goes up for grabs. He changes all the equations. And he has a very long and colorful history of messing in the human world for both good and ill. I know maybe three Coyote stories and I heard those so long ago I'm not sure I could repeat them correctly. I was about four at the time. But I do remember being very seriously impressed with how dangerous it was to have him interested in you."

Charlie nodded. "Dangerous or one huge blessing, ain't much middle ground with Coyote. I take it Eagle, ya don't remember any of yer Journey then 'cause he stopped by to talk to ya."

"No." Ito replied shortly.

"I wonder who I talked to." Voril said with introspective interest.

"Well, Kit Fox, yer totem for one and Grandmother of Bears for the other I saw with ya. She don't advise many these days. I hope ya remember it sometime." He looked over at Yuri and added, "Saw ya with Jay and Crow at first, then Beaver and Wolf came by later. Ya'll want to try to remember what they said too. None of 'em are minor spirits and all will have given ya information ya'll need in the future."

He turned serious black eyes on Adrian Ito. "Yer here for Kayla and yer kids ain't ya?"

Level amber eyes met his stare. "Yes."

Charlie nodded slowly. "Well, yer the one she wants. An' the Spirits approve of ya. So there's one more thing I've got for ya."

He reached under the counter. And he paused, considering everything he'd learned of this young man, his friends, and the young woman waiting for him. When his hand moved again, it did not pick up the item chosen by Coyote.

"I had a vision last night. I was told to give ya this. Ya wear it under yer shirt with yer talisman. Point of fact, ya might want to shorten the talisman's cord for a bit so it don't interfere with this. Ya'll need it at Kayla's. I don't know what for and I don't know how long, just that it's necessary. Ya'll know how to use it when the time comes."

Ito accepted it somewhat reluctantly and looked it over. Charlie knew he would see nothing more than a somewhat heavy silver disc about four inches across with five concentric circles on it hung from a sturdy silver chain attached at two points. The young man looked at the piece and back to the shaman several times before he put it on and tucked it away as directed. He shortened the talisman cord as well.

They didn't stay long after that. There was nothing more he could tell them right now and they were not sure they wanted to know more anyway. He did have them get their map out though and he showed them a shortcut through the People's lands that would save them better than a day's travel yet take them by the ranches they still needed to visit. Time was getting shorter than they knew, they needed to save all they could.

As he watched them leave, he became aware that he was not alone.

"You changed the selection." Coyote said.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because it occurred to me that just maybe there was four tests runnin' here today instead of three."

The Trickster laughed.


	35. Chapter 35

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well, the exhaust system fell off the SUV today. So I didn't make it in to work. Car's at Midas, I'm at the computer, you get the chapter a _lot_ sooner than I ever thought I'd have the time to get it done. Next one will take a while. I don't do fights well and have to go over them several times before I'm happy with them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Up in the Plants, a brilliant old man bent his intellect to the task of writing a letter. He had another, possible just as bright in his own field, to deceive. It took him two days to compose a letter he was confident portrayed the image he needed to send. His daughter-in-law reviewed it and he spent a third day rewriting the sections where he was shocked to discover he'd said more than he should have. Only then was it sent off.

Very secret copies of that letter were sent to select allies. The copies lasted long enough to be read perhaps two times before the oxygen in the air destroyed them. The notes that accompanied the copies explained the need for the precautions and then destructed themselves. What this small group would later call 'our Pict time' had officially begun.

* * *

The man who received the letter considered it in silence and no small satisfaction. Time and this war had done his work for him. It would never do to take his eye off this enemy, the man was far too intelligent and far too opposed to his own goals, but he was no longer the danger he'd once been.

To make things even better, the old man had a goal of his own now. It was even a useful one that could be incorporated neatly into his much larger, personal plans. The difference in their ages was all in his favor now as well. The elderly geneticist could see his time coming to an end; it had focused him more intently than ever before. Between that and his last heir's strange choice in wives, he had a solid grip on the man the old one wasn't going to be able to break.

He smiled down at the chess board. It was one of three he had set up in the small room. They tracked his progress on three different fronts. He reached across to the right hand board and moved the black queen's bishop across to take the white queen's rook. He lifted the defeated piece off the board. He had one less problem to concern him now. A glance at the time propelled out of his chair. He had a recital to attend.

* * *

Four small ships approached the abandoned L-4 colony. They showed no markings and no navigational lights. They slipped into the colony's harbor and kept going. The main airlock cycled them in one at a time. It was a tight fit but they proved to be just small enough to make it into the interior of the ruined place.

The directions they had been given were surprisingly precise. They enabled the ships to locate their designated landing site with complete accuracy. Once down, they immediately began to unload the ships into the building that would be their headquarters and work site for a good while. As each ship was unloaded, it was moved to a less visible spot nearby and carefully shut down. They would operate off of the existing power supply as long as it held out.

Within two days they were up and running. The data they were being paid for was being rapidly collected and nothing was being left behind as per the contract. None of them liked this place and in part that set the pace of their work. For the faster they tore this place apart, the sooner they could leave.

True to his promise, their employer's special coded instructions data-tablet decoded a section for them on the third day. It led them to the promised vault and it did indeed hold the first payment they had been guaranteed for this job. Moral improved immediately. Moreover, they had their employer's full permission to salvage whatever they wanted that was not on his destroy list as long as they waited until after they had the data out before they started marketing anything from the place. That it wasn't his to give away was of no concern to either party. The first data shipment went out a week later.

* * *

The feast was over and so was most of the after-dinner talking. It was down to clean-up now. The rule was if you cooked, you didn't have to do clean-up too. Since she'd been drafted to replace Jamie in the kitchen when Pop threw Larry out she counted as a cook and was off duty now. Just as well, she didn't have much time and there was a lot of stuff to pack yet.

Kayla had no intentions of taking any of this with her. It was going to have to come out one box at a time as her folks thought it safe. But only she could decide what was to go in those boxes. Last night it had been most of her clothes and her library that vanished into the boxes. Tonight she was starting on the craft stuff. If she had time, she'd worry about the bric-a-brac later. Only essential clothing and her jewelry was going with her.

She laid out four boxes and proceeded to mix her craft materials in them. Beads were heavy and she had a _lot_ of them. Fortunately, she also had them stored in fairly small units with three drawers each that could be put fully loaded into the bottom of a box. Cleaned and carded wool on the other hand was relatively light and it packed neatly around the bead boxes to hold them securely in place without adding too much extra weight. She left a space in the center for whatever selection of supplies came to hand that would fit; be it leather dye, her wood carving knives, a box of the specialized stamps for working designs on leather, or extra bobbins for her spinning wheels.

She worked steadily, reducing the clutter on the shelves of her workroom to a stack of neat boxes. As she did, she wondered if she was completely wasting her time. Would there even be a demand at all for true, hand-crafted items up in the Plants? Was she nuts to have disassembled and boxed a pair of actual spinning wheels? Did they even know how to do any hand-crafts up there? Yet she couldn't imagine trying to live in a strange place without something familiar to work on. So she kept on packing.

When she heard the door open behind her she jerked up and around, immediately taking a defensive stance. Larry might have been tossed out but he wasn't the only member of the family who strongly disapproved of what she'd chosen to do. But it wasn't Richard or Jamie who quietly closed the door behind them, it was Mom.

If Adrian had any questions about what Kayla was going to look like in a few years, he would only have to look at his new mother-in-law to be. The face shape was identical save only for Kayla's well-defined widow's peak hairline where her mother's was straight. Time and a life lived at least half out in the elements had aged the skin and put wrinkles where her daughter had none. Yet it was well-cared for skin, still soft and still supple despite the passage of time and the additions of wind and weather. And they shared the same shade of emerald in their eyes, making the very rare fights between them things the rest of the family ran from. The big difference between them was the amount of steel gray mixed in with the raven black in Janet Grayhawk's hair; there was none at all in Kayla's yet.

She looked around at the results of a good two hours of applied work. "Are you really going to try to take all this with you?"

"No, of course not." Kayla said quietly. "But I was going to ask you to ship it to a friend of mine in Aube when I could get the money together for it. He'll send it on as I can afford it."

She caught the look on her mother's face and knew she had to cut that thought off immediately. "Kira's only a friend, Mom. And that's all he's ever going to be. Besides, he's a Coordinator too. And he's going with Lacus Clyne. Her late father was the Plant's Supreme Council Chairman before that nut, Patrick Zala took over. They're very attached to each other. I'm not stupid enough to try to get in the middle there."

Janet sat down at the now clean worktable. "You seem to have met quite a few Coordinator boys in the last few months."

"Yes, I did. Most of them were ZAFT and most of them turned out to be human."

Her mother had the grace to nod acceptance to that. "I've never said they weren't dear. But by the same token, they most surely aren't our kind of human either."

Right. She'd tried to avoid this conversation but it didn't look like she was going to get to. She sealed up the box she was working on and took the chair across from her mother. If Mom was determined to have this talk, then she'd give it the undivided attention it was going to need.

"Mom, I didn't plan this you know." Kayla said flatly. "I was a soldier, Mom. I spent a year going out in a Zero killing Coordinators in ZAFT uniforms! Falling for one was the last thing I ever thought would happen."

Her mother held up one hand, stopping her before she could get up a good head of steam. "I know that. Yet it did. And you've come home and asked us to accept this. After we lost four of your brothers and sisters to them. I'm at a loss to understand you at the moment."

She sighed. "I know. But it's interesting, when I was up in the Plant, how his people couldn't understand how he could fall for a Natural after losing all but two of his family at Junius Seven."

Kayla saw her mother's eyes widen at that. "Yeah," she nodded. "He's from Junius Seven. He was on his way home when the nuke went off right in front of his eyes. Everyone but his Mom, Grandfather, and him were home for the holiday. He lost them all in that unprovoked attack by our people. He was blind for a week, had vision problems for a couple more, and joined the ZAFT just as soon as they cleared up. He's spent most of a year in a mobile suit, killing Naturals in Earth Alliance uniforms. He had no plans to fall for one of us either."

She picked up a brilliantly dyed chicken feather that hadn't made into a box yet to give her hands something to do. "So you see, the 'how can you, we lost family' card cancels out on both sides. We can accept each other because we both understand what it means to lose those we love to the senselessness of hate and bigotry. And because we both have, we will never be able to destroy ourselves with it either. 'Cause neither can tell the other they don't know anything about it you see. They may have engineered themselves nowadays to be smarter, faster, and stronger but they haven't been able to do anything about how much it hurts to lose friends and family. Because they're still just human beings. Like the rest of us."

"Are they really? Like us?" Janet asked quietly. "When you can do so much more, how can you relate to those who can't?

"Well, they sure seem normal enough. They pair off, although that's being arranged by a government agency now because of genetic compatibility issues, they have families, they have jobs." She looked up at her mother earnestly. "I had nothing to watch but their entertainment and news channels. I got quite a feel for how they operate and Mom, they're so normal it's scary. Maybe in a few more generations they'll evolve a separate society but right now it's just a reflection of our own. And even if the appearance of the society changes, some basic things may not. I mean, _someone's_ gonna hafta operate the grocery stores and pick up the garbage! Yeah, maybe a lot of their jobs are more intellectually challenging than many of ours are, but they all aren't! And whatever they do for a living, they still have a workday, they still come home at the end of it, and they still have to fit a family life in around it, same as anyone down here does."

She waved the feather as she got going. "They have social stratification too. There are very important families and there are middle-class families and there are dirt poor families up there. We just never hear about it. They pretend it doesn't exist. The Plants are perfect you know! They tell the same lies and use almost the same words as some Earth-side governments I could name."

"I, . . . . . . . I see." Janet said.

"Oh, and they're no better at love than we are either!" Kayla jabbed the feather up in the air. "Their relationships fall apart just like ours do. People are unfaithful up in the Plants like they are down here. They just have rigidly effective birth control so you never see the usual consequences that you see here!"

She flopped back in the chair. "They do have some complications we don't though. They've bred themselves into a hole with their genetic enhancements and now they have to strictly regulate who is allowed to reproduce with who to prevent creating a generation that can't reproduce at all. The Ito Project I told you about is dedicated to saving them from themselves and the 'more is better!' delusion of the past couple of generations. Unless some idiot closes it down too soon, it will too."

She shook her head. "The crown jewel of human science and it was strangling itself with good, old fashioned, human stupidity and arrogance. Blue Cosmos would have been smarter not to have started this war. The Supreme Council wouldn't have listened to someone as 'radical' as Dr. Ito if the war hadn't forced them to face reality on so many fronts. They would probably have let things slide this generation only to find there _was_ no solution open by the time the fourth generation was getting ready to want to start the fifth. Then they'd have died out on their own. Without any need for the mass murder and destruction those bastards have brought us in the name of their 'blue and pure world'!"

"Kayla, why do _you_ want to save the Coordinators? Setting aside the entire issue of the war, large as it is, what has led you to want to save them?"

She stared at her mother in puzzlement. Save the Coordinators? She didn't have any plans to save them. They could save themselves. They already had it figured out.

"You lost me here. I'm not planning to save the Coordinators. What ever gave you that idea Mom?"

"Then why are you so determined to have these children? Aren't they part of the plan, that Ito Plan, to save those people?"

Her jaw dropped in shock and it was several minutes before she could manage to talk again. "MOM! They're MY kids! Mine and Adrian's! They aren't about some stupid political plan! They're about _our_ future! We didn't even _plan_ them! They just happened! They didn't come out of any lab; they came out of our love for each other! The same way you and Pop got me!"

She grabbed her hair and gave it a good yank in total frustration. "How could you come up with something that stupid? I've only been telling you since I got home that I love him and I want _his_ kids! Yes, Adrian Ito is a Coordinator. So what? He's the man I love! Is that so damned hard to comprehend?"

"Yes, actually, it is." Her mother replied steadily. "It is very difficult to comprehend that my daughter has fallen in love with, slept with, is pregnant by, and intends to marry one of the people who killed four of this family!"

She looked over the table and said coldly. "Then ask yourself how his mom took it when he told her he'd fallen in love with, slept with, gotten pregnant, and planned to marry one of the people who killed twenty three of his family!"

Janet Grayhawk went as pale as someone of her coloring could. The silence stretched. Kayla stared straight into her mother's eyes, genuinely angry now. Damn it! What was the point of talking if nobody ever listened?

"Paul, Mitch, Steve, and Sandy were all serving military Mom. They'd made a deliberate and informed choice to accept the risks of putting on that uniform." She said slowly. "The Ito's were all civilians, all of them. He lost three of four grandparents, father, brother, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, some of them babies. They never made any deliberate or informed choices about accepting risks. The two don't compare. And if they did, it wouldn't favor us."

Her mother stood and turned to go. Kayla spoke once more before she could leave.

"The losses that matter to anyone are the ones they knew; their family, their friends. Few give a rat's ass about what the enemy is losing other than to hope it's a lot more than they are. But if you make the mistake of getting to know the enemy, then those losses become people too. I made that mistake. I can never see either side as faceless monsters again."

"Ah, that's why you really resigned your commission, isn't it?" Janet asked softly. "Because any battle you might fight from now on wouldn't be against a mobile suit, it would be against the living pilot inside. A pilot you now recognize as human. And to be victorious, or even to just survive, you'll have to kill that human."

"That's half of it." Kayla agreed. "The other half is my kids. If I stayed in the service, I would have been forced to abort them. I will not do that."

"No, I understand that now."

She watched the door close quietly behind her mother. "Yeah Mom, you understand now. But will you accept it ever?"

* * *

Adrian sprawled in the one almost comfortable chair in the motel room. Both Voril and Yuri were sound asleep, each managing to spread rather trim bodies all across the large beds. He was supposedly on guard duty. However, he knew he wasn't doing the best possible job of it at the moment. It was just as well they had those Dreyfus bodyguard kits and all their detection gear because he couldn't detect much of anything right now.

He made a mental note to himself never to overeat like that again. He was so bloated and sluggish one of the Natural maids around here could take him out with her mop! He grinned at the dark; it had been wonderfully tasty though!

Captain Ito still wasn't sure just what Thanksgiving was all about or why it was still celebrated. The explanations from the people in the restaurant this evening hadn't made all that much sense to him. But then, he knew he lacked the historical background to put them against too.

However, he did understand that it was about a harvest dinner and a sharing of food between Europeans and Native Americans. And it very clearly hadn't lost any of those associations over the centuries since that first meal. It seemed to have picked up a lot of extra foods along the way as well judging by the enormous buffet the restaurant had set up. He was familiar with perhaps a quarter of the list at best.

Voril, for whom any food item was a treat waiting to be discovered, wandered up and down the buffet and brought his findings back to the table to share. So they tried the turkey, the ham, the gyros, the pot roast, the lamb chops, the meatloaf, the dressing, the mashed potatoes, five different gravies, the candied mashed yams, the noodles and cheese, the burritos, the lo mein, the corn, the peas, three different kinds of beans, two kinds of squash, something called succotash, carrots, olives, eight kinds of cheese and fried won-tons. Then they discovered the very best thing on the menu.

It really didn't look all that promising when Voril brought it back. The dark orange wedges on some kind of crust with white stuff on top quite frankly looked possibly poisonous. But then, those fried won-ton things hadn't looked all that delightful either and they'd been delicious! So they'd tried them.

Chocolate was good. Pumpkin pie was better. Much better! No, make that the best thing on this whole stupid planet!

They'd been pretty well out of room when they discovered this amazing delicacy. So they'd only been able to down about three slices each. However, Adrian had had the forethought to go over to the bakery counter on the way out and buy three of them for breakfast tomorrow. They were stacked neatly in the room's small refrigerator right now.

He sighed. This was the last night on the road. They were only about two hundred kilometers from the Double Hawk Ranch now. Tomorrow, he would know how things were going to go, or not go, between Kayla and him. And he still didn't have any good ideas on how to approach her! Sometimes he was so hopeless!

Still, their luck had been remarkable ever since leaving that damn shaman's place. They'd found the roads he'd told them about with no problems even though they weren't marked by road signs. The van had handled the rugged tracks with no difficulties despite not being designed for such roads. They'd found fuel stations open when they needed them and the owners willing to sell to three Coordinators. And the last two shepherds Yuri had needed to visit had been ready to deal as well. So he had two more contracts signed for his father at fair prices all around. Lastly, they had found this place, one of a large chain of 'motels' common in this part of the country that had rooms and was willing to rent one to Coordinators. Then it was all topped off with that incredible meal. It was almost enough to make you at least wonder about that crazy old man and his spirits.

Adrian straightened himself up in the chair and checked the readings on the screens of his scanner box again. Everything was still clear and calm. So they were still lucky there too.

He pulled his talisman over his head and thoughtfully studied it as it lay in his hand. It really didn't look like something magical. It was an old piece, yes, but that didn't have anything to do with magic. And it was a very simple piece, just a silver oval with an eagle's talon mounted in a protective silver bezel and set with a pair of very deep blue turquoise, one to either side of it. There wasn't even any real background pattern on it. Yuri and Voril had much more elaborate pieces than his.

Yet over the last two days he'd become very reluctant to be away from it at all. Nor did he want anyone to see it. It was a private, personal thing, not something to be shared. He was at least as intent on keeping this out of sight as he ever had been with his grandparents wedding rings. It made no sense, but he couldn't deny that the feeling was very real.

With another soft sigh, he put it back on. It simply wasn't comfortable if he wasn't wearing it. He wished he understood this though.

"_You depend too much on science."_ Golden Eagle told him sharply.

Adrian stared. Where had this meter and a half tall bird come from? And why could he see through it?

"_I am Golden Eagle, your Spirit Guide. You will see more of me from time to time. For now, understand that you and your people depend too much on science. You neglect the spirit. This is foolish. You are human and humans who neglect their spirits eventually lose touch with the ability to truly know right from wrong. Your people are starting down a dangerous path. They must be brought back from it."_

"What?" Adrian floundered, too startled to thing coherently.

"_You must be brought back from this path that neglects the spirit. You think of yourselves as self-created but you are not. At best you have moved some small bits about. You, your souls, they still come from a place you can not explain. Some call that God, some the Great Spirit. Your people must learn to recognize the limits of science and the place of spirit." _

"We don't need religion or superstitions!" Adrian snapped. "They cause endless divisions and warfare over the unprovable and untestable!"

The Eagle looked at him reprovingly. _"I did not say religion, I said spirit. They are not the same. Learn the difference before you tell _me_ what is or is not good!"_

"I . . . . . ." He looked around wildly but he was suddenly talking to a room empty of all but himself and his two sleeping companions. The giant, transparent eagle that had just been there, was gone! He blinked but it stayed gone.

A careful check of the security recordings very clearly showed himself talking to thin air. Somehow, it was no surprise that Eagle hadn't registered on the equipment. But it did prove one thing; he had been reacting to something. He just didn't want to believe it was what it claimed to be.

They depended too much on science? He wasn't sure just what Eagle meant by that. Coordinators and the Plants existed _because_ of science! They continued to exist because of their investments in research and development in many fields, including human biology. He couldn't see where they could step back from any science and survive.

Nor did he understand why Eagle would want to bring religion to the Plants. It was a terribly divisive force that had caused . . . . . . No, that was not true, he did not say that. He said spirit. And he said religion and spirit were not the same thing. It was Adrian Ito, not Golden Eagle, who was trying to make them one and the same!

But what was the difference? And how could it possibly matter? It was still all about things that could not be seen, tested, or proven in any way and that people had a nasty tendency to believe in passionately and kill each other over wasn't it? 'Learn the difference before you tell _me_ what is and is not good!' Apparently he had a whole new field of human endeavor to research now!

Adrian slouched in the chair irritably. He had no interest in this subject and he never had. Why did this stupid Eagle have to foist this stupid project off on him? He already had enough to do damn it! When did that feather-head think he was going to have the time for this? He was Second for the Thoms Team! That ate his life right there! And he was planning to marry this girl he was here to see! If he did have spare time, that's where it was going to have to go, to his new family, not to some idiot research project on some ridiculous subject the whole species should have outgrown a few hundred years ago!

He let himself rant and rave about it for a good couple of hours. By then he was getting very repetitive and boring even to his own mind. Besides, he was pretty sure if the Eagle was real, and he was no longer willing to bet against it, that there was no way out of this assignment. He wondered how long it was going to take and what the research materials were going to do to his budget. But most of all, he really wondered why Eagle thought _he_ should be doing this.

* * *


	36. Chapter 36

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I am putting these up one, two because I think I might aggravate a number of people if I didn't. The end of the second one will be bad enough for some. Part One of Ito meets the Grayhawks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The twins birthday party was an unqualified success. This did not always happen. Born too close to Thanksgiving, their birthday had sometimes been _on_ Thanksgiving when the Thursday fell on the wrong calendar date. It also usually meant everyone was too stuffed from Turkey Day to want another big meal and no one wanted to either cook one or clean up after one. Or, everyone was hip deep in preparations for Turkey Day and had no time or space in the kitchen to make another major dinner at the same time. So while every other birthday got a 'special' dinner, the twins got either leftovers or something batched together way too often.

But this year, they planned the menu themselves. And they made everything but the cake ahead too, claiming space in the freezers for their dinner before anyone could stuff them full of Thanksgiving preparations. So they got to have burgers, fries and brats they'd ordered in all the way from the Midwest, along with a couple strange kinds of cheese to put on them. It all proved pretty tasty, even to Kayla who was finding that she was entering that stage of pregnancy where foods could react oddly sometimes.

And since it was either grilled out in the back yard or done in the deep fryer, also set up in the back yard for this occasion, there was minimal mess to clean up too. It still hadn't snowed at the ranch so they just left the grill to cool on its own in the crisp November afternoon and the fryer to do the same. Both could be properly cleaned better cold anyway.

While the cooking had been done outside, the eating had happened inside where it was warm. Having no interest in doing loads of dishes after doing mountains of them just yesterday, Alys and Todd had brought out the summer stuff and loaded the food onto disposable plates with dinnerware and cups to match. All of it had gone out to the grill to help burn off the grease when everyone was done.

The leftover burgers and a very few brats were stacked on plates on the kitchen counter for raiding later. The cake was brought out from wherever Gran managed to hide it this year and the twins blew their candles out. Everyone took their cake and trooped out to the living room to watch Alys and Todd open their presents.

They were sixteen, an important year in the Grayhawk household. In the next weeks, they would each go with one of their grandmothers as she supervised their search for their visions. They would make their Journey's alone for this was the one thing their twin could not help them with. This search was something completely up to the individual. Sometime before Christmas, they would know their inner names and identities.

So the presents for this year would largely relate to either the search or to the 'rebirth' ceremony that would follow when they would come home adults in the eyes of the People. As expected, Mom and Pop gave them their parade saddles and bridles. Commissioned pieces, they were hand carved leather and heavily mounted with silver. Joe Totse's work if Kayla was any judge. Properly cared for, their great grandkids would inherit those still in good working condition; Joe's creations lasted. There might not be any horses in the Plants, she didn't know if there were or not, but her own parade saddle and bridle were carefully packed and would be shipped up there anyway. There were things one should not leave behind if it could be avoided.

Maria provided Alys' new Woman's Dress. It was done in a blend of styles that reflected the blend of tribes that had happened to make the current Grayhawks. The skirt was Navaho, the shirt Zuni, the embroidery patterns came from several eastern woodland tribes while the beadwork patterns were Sioux and Cheyenne.

Jamie and Carol gave Alys a silver concho belt, each of the heavy, complexly patterned conchos set with a turquoise the size of Kayla's thumbnail. John found her a pair of turquoise earrings that matched the belt. Crystal had sturdy new moccasins in the Ute style that Alys preferred, the pattern on them complementing one from the skirt Maria'd given her. Richard and Douglas gave her a pair of very large, pure white deerskins. They would be good to have on the Journey. Kayla herself had found a large example of the best modern silver work in a squash blossom necklace set with yet more turquoise. Todd on the other hand, gave his sister the strategy game she'd been wanting.

The family gave Todd a similar set of gifts, all designed for a newly adult man. He too received clothing, moccasins, a concho belt and a pair of white deerskins. But he got a long knife with a stag horn hilt in place of earrings, and Kayla gave him a matched set of heavy silver and turquoise bracelets, the ceremonial remnants of the old warriors' bowguards. His sister got him some silly game he'd been after too.

Todd had just unwrapped the game when the phone rang. Everyone glared at it. Jamie, the closest, was elected to answer it while everyone else went on with the party.

Kayla found herself oddly uneasy. She had no idea why, but the phone bothered her. So she was watching Jamie and saw him go from irritated to grim suddenly. Then he put the phone down and went over to whisper in Pop's ear. Whatever he said got Pop out of his chair immediately.

Howard Grayhawk grabbed the phone and jammed it against his ear. She couldn't hear what he was saying, which wasn't much, but she could see whatever he was hearing was making him madder by the second. As she watched his knuckles whitening on the phone, she was rather surprised it didn't shatter in his hand.

"Kirby, you can shoot the damn fool if you need to! If that's what he's come to, that's what he's earned!" Howard suddenly roared at the phone, shocking the entire family into silence. "You just do your job! You pay no nevermind to whose kid he is! He's broke the law and he'll pay the consequences for it. I'll not hold anything against you for it."

He nodded a couple times then said, "Well, I'll call you straight off if I see the stupid ass. Yeah, talk to you later."

He banged the phone down hard enough to make Kayla hope Kirby had already hung up. Howard looked up and found the entire family staring at him.

"What're you all looking at?"

"You." His mother told him flatly. "Isn't every day you announce the sheriff can just shoot someone with your permission in that tone of voice. At least I'm assuming that was Kirby Rennie on the line. And I'm also assuming the 'stupid ass' is Larry. Just what has he done that Kirby might be shooting him?"

Pop glared at them all. "Fine, it'll be in the paper anyhow. Larry and his Blue Cosmos buddies broke into Doc Davies office and lifted three boxes of trank darts. The brainless morons left their fingerprints all over the place and enough spilled liquor to explain why they were so brainless. They also dropped a bunch of Blue Cosmos pamphlets and other useless propaganda in the parking lot. But Rennie found one item in with the junk that explained why they took the darts."

"Oh, don't tell me," Maria suddenly said grimly, "that stupid story about how you can knock over a Coordinator with those is making the rounds again."

"You've heard this one before?" Howard snapped.

"Yes, it came around about five years ago. I thought it had died back then. Apparently no stupid story that sounds good ever does with those people."

"You want to enlighten the rest of us?" Jamie asked irritably.

"Sure, why not." Maria leaned back in her chair. "There is this story that you can use animal tranquilizer darts to capture Coordinators. Supposedly you have to hit them with at least two to take them down. Three makes for good insurance. But four might be an overdose."

She snorted in derision. "We're talking about the stuff the vet uses to knock out an Angus bull here! Yes, Coordinators do resist drugs that will flatten us but they aren't that resistant! You hit them with the same dose you use to knock down that bull and you'll put them on the ground too. We're talking a what, roughly seventy five to ninety kilo human verses a ton or more of bull at the same dosage? Yeah, it drops them. I've seen it tried. Two is an overdose. Three will usually kill."

"So you're saying you _can_ use animal tranks to capture Coordinators?" Jamie asked.

"Well, it'll work. If you can hit them. And get a full dose into them before they swat the dart out of their clothes. Believe me, you do not want to be the luckless sod they catch holding the trank gun after they've been hit! They aren't nice about it. But yes, I have seen it work. Once. Out of about thirty-five tries. And we didn't even get to capture him. His people got to him first and rescued him. So I'm not sure how long it kept him down or anything. I just know it did drop him."

"Just who came up with that nutso idea?" Kayla snapped before she considered how it might be taken coming from her.

"One of the more secret branches of Special Operations." Maria replied, one hand going up to cut off Richard's sharp comment on special interests. "And before I get any silly remarks about real patriots or something equally stupid, these people were not nice and not folks I was happy to share a uniform with. Everyone here understand that?"

Kayla wasn't the only one with raised eyebrows on that one. General Grayhawk did not criticize the military, ever. She was famous for a twenty minute interview with a hostile media reporter in which she'd never said a single word or changed her expression even slightly for the entire time. She just let him ask an increasingly aggressive series of questions until he'd talked himself into a corner and his last question was outright treason. All she did then was smile coolly at him and snap her fingers to summon the MP's standing in the wings. It was that incident that gave her the nickname "Bronze Spider" for her patient ability to outwait an enemy. The ZAFT used it too. It simply was too descriptive of how she handled combat.

Yet now she was referring to a Special Operations team as 'not nice' and people she wasn't happy to have wearing the same uniform. Kayla decided immediately that she wanted nothing to do, ever, with any team her oldest sister would call 'not nice' in that tone of voice. Considering some of the rumors that floated around the services about the kinds of research being done into how to beat Coordinators at their own game, it sounded like Maria had met the truth behind a few of them. And she really, really hadn't liked it.

Her father just shrugged. "Whatever. Larry and his fool friends have taken a dozen of the loaded darts and a couple, three syringes of the antidote. Kirby figures they've gone out hunting. Ricky's Dad's reported his truck missing and Larry has his own so they've got wheels under 'em. Kirby's calling all the ranches and isolated homes around here to be on the lookout for the six of them. He's pretty sure they're liquored up enough to actually kill somebody if they catch him."

Howard shook his head helplessly. "The damn girl didn't know! She didn't tell him because she didn't know! Why the hell can't that stupid boy admit that? Why is he so damned upset over this?"

"Howard, stop swearing." Janet ordered. "He always was prejudiced, ever since he lost that science prize to Jimmy Howell. Finding out the child he'd given his name to was one of them seems to have pushed him over an edge. Its little Lawrence that's the key here. His son is a 'space monster' and he can't face that."

"Pop, you know how he holds a grudge." Douglas said quietly. "Well I know for a fact that the reason he's never gotten beyond Lieutenant is because he's a fool in combat. He's so determined to prove he's better than any Coordinator he takes stupid chances and risks with his battery. He's gotten his people killed more than once trying grandstanding stunts he's smart enough to _know_ won't work! But he does it anyway because he's worked himself into a mental corner where he has to be smarter and better than they are and he can't let himself admit how good they are anymore. He's been heading for a breakdown for a long time now. The war's just moved it along a lot faster. Finding out about Rebecca and the kids may have pushed him over the edge. I've been watching him attack Kayla, and Pop, I'm not so sure he's honestly sane anymore."

"Excuse me," Crystal cut in, eyes open in skepticism. "How does a Navy officer know what's stalling an Army officer's career?"

Doug gave her a 'spare me' glance. "Well the easy way is to flat out ask his commanding officer why your older brother is still stuck at Lieutenant. So that's what I did. And that's the answer I got back. Colonel Pettibone isn't too happy to have Larry in his outfit anymore either. He thinks he's getting too dangerous to the rest of the people around him. Even if he doesn't land in jail over this theft business, I think he may get back to his company only to find himself transferred to a post far away from any chance of seeing combat again."

"The Colonel just told you this?" Maria asked mildly.

"Yeah." Douglas replied. "After about the third bottle of good, single malt Scotch that is."

"Ah!" The General said, enlightened. "Yes, a very old and honored method of getting answers."

"Expensive but it works." Douglas noted dryly.

"Doug," Howard asked, "why were you checking in the first place?"

"Because I got the strangest, most incoherent, rambling, vicious letter I've ever seen from him about six weeks ago. He must have written it drunk and mailed it in the same shape because I don't think he'd have been stupid enough to have sent it if he was sober. He did a lot of ranting and raving about Coordinators but a lot more about how Army Command was deliberately holding him back. That made me real curious. And frankly, it worried me too. Larry never has been too well screwed down. That letter suggested someone whose screws were just about out of the hinges. It was fifteen pages long, tiny handwriting, and nothing but rage. Then I come home and I find the man and the letter have way too much in common. Frankly Pop, I think you did the whole family a big favor when you threw him out the other day. I think he was working his way up to literally attacking with intent to kill Kayla. And he'd have nailed anyone who got in the way trying to stop him."

Richard stared at his brother. "Are you nuts?"

"No, he's not." John said wearily. "He's absolutely right. I just didn't want to admit it. He's my twin! And he's lost it somewhere."

"Then I suggest we might want to keep our eyes open." Maria said. "Because our brother holds a grudge like no one's business. And he has one right here at the moment."

That was a hell of a way to end the twins birthday party! Kayla was pissed. Larry had done it again. He wasn't happy so no one could be happy. She so wanted to bounce his skull off a wall right at that moment!

The distinctive sound of smashing metal came muffled into the house.

"HEY!" Todd shouted, staring out the front windows. "There's a van wrecked in the driveway! And holy shit! That's Larry's truck coming in!"

A split second later the window shattered. Todd yelled in fright and dropped to the floor as glass went everywhere. Something thudded hard into the log wall beside the fireplace.

"GET DOWN!" Maria screamed a warning to the civilians present, everyone with military training already having taken cover. "THAT'S GUNFIRE!"

* * *

Adrian jerked the wheel, narrowly missing a major pothole in the road. He was driving way too fast on a road he didn't know and that had too many blind spots in it. But then, there were a couple truckloads of maniacs with loaded guns behind them; slowing down wasn't an option. Another round whined away as it ricocheted off the road. One more attempt at the tires that had missed. Damn it! And the day had been going so well too!

Morning had come in quietly enough to miss notice. Only the fact that they'd had a few brain cells still firing after that dinner and had left a request for a wake-up call got them up before noon. To his complete embarrassment, Adrian found he'd fallen asleep on guard duty. He'd spent the night sprawled in the chair, never waking Yuri for his turn. They were just lucky no one had picked that time to attack.

At least it meant they'd all gotten a full night's rest for a change. They took turns with the shower. Voril, who went first, got dressed and slipped out of the room for a bit, returning with some odds and ends of eating utensils from various rapid food places they'd stopped at along the way and a small canister. The canister proved to hold the white topping for their pumpkin pies. Adrian didn't bother to ask where he'd gotten the canister or how he'd learned about it. It was related to food, therefore Voril would automatically know all about it.

As breakfasts went, a whole pumpkin pie was probably not on a nutritionists list as a desirable item. However it was just as good in the morning as it had been yesterday. And it was quite filling.

The drive had been very pleasant too. It was a beautiful, crisp day with bright sunshine to illuminate everything and make it look warm and friendly. Voril had sat in the back seat and given them a running geology lecture all the way up. It happened to actually be interesting so no one shut him up for a change.

They were perhaps ten kilometers out of Oro del Mentiroso when the first hint of trouble disturbed the day. They encountered a police roadblock closing both lanes of the highway. They were too close when they rounded the curve and saw it to do anything but pull up and stop like good visitors. Any other action would have been immediately suspicious.

The police had been polite, and worried. They did the single most thorough check of their credentials that had happened since they'd arrived in the Federation. Sharper hearing than the Naturals realized they were dealing with gained them enough information to realize they weren't suspects here but were considered possible victims. There weren't enough details to get a clear impression of the danger but it seemed to involve the local Blue Cosmos group and stolen drugs. Unfortunately, the police neglected to mention what kind of drugs anywhere they could overhear it.

Adrian had the very decided sense that the police wanted to turn them back. They were three Coordinators and the problem was the local Blue Cosmos. It was a bad combination, he admitted that himself. But he wasn't going to turn back this close to his goal unless directly ordered to. In the end, economics won out. Yuri was a wool buyer and the sheep industry was the lifeblood of this community. They were warned but allowed to proceed to the Double Hawk. They in turn promised to call in when they arrived.

They had found the road to the ranch with no trouble. It was in bad shape but the van was handling it well enough when the ever vigilant Yuri suddenly spotted something back among the rocks and trees on their right. The something proved to be a pair of trucks. Using their Dreyfus gear, Voril got a good enough image to pick up the all too familiar 'blue and pure world' slogan in one window. He also spotted at least five men, all armed with rifles. Then he saw one of them looking at the van with unmistakable combat binoculars. That was when Adrian had stepped up the speed.

The trucks had come boiling after them. Like something out of a bad vid production, the fools had been aiming at the tires. Tires weren't so easy to destroy as they appeared in vids. They were self-sealing and almost indestructible nowadays. If you wanted to stop a vehicle, you shot the driver. This did not make said driver feel any too secure at that moment. Several more potholes, a couple of washouts and about two dozen rounds of wasted ammunition later they raced by another ranch gate.

"Map says that was the Two Bird place!" Yuri snapped. "The next drive on the left will be the Double Hawk!"

"Right!" Adrian acknowledged. "I'm turning in there. If we're covered in luck, they'll give up at that point. If they follow us down, we'll abandon the van somewhere before the house and run for it. Voril! Be sure to bring all three of our bags!"

"Our bags? What, you worried about appearances now?"

"No, idiot! Our uniforms are in them! Or do you want those Blue Cosmos guys to find your redcoat?"

"Oh, right."

Adrian just shook his head. Sometimes he worried about that kid. He was more than bright enough but he overlooked the odd important detail at the worst times occasionally.

"There!" Yuri pointed. "Three hundred meters on the left!"

"I see it." He said grimly as he prepared for a sudden slowdown and sharp turn. "Hold on tight!"

He stamped on the brakes, sending the van into a skid that took it almost sideways across the road. The trucks gained with frightening speed. He didn't look at them. They were doing whatever they were doing. He was fully committed to his course of action now and couldn't change anything to evade any move they might make. He took his foot off the brake and brought the wheel over slightly as he gave it some power. The wheels bit and they were throwing rocks everywhere. But their vector had changed and he was headed down the Grayhawk driveway!

Four shots peppered the van as the trucks overshot, smashing windows and smashing the windshield in front of him. This time, they hadn't been shooting at the tires. His vision severely hampered by the shattered glass of the windshield, he had to slow down drastically or risk wrecking the van.

Yuri unfastened his safety harness, twisted around and gave the windshield a powerful kick. It bowed but didn't fall out. It took two more strikes to knock it free enough to let Adrian see well enough to pick up speed again. By that time, the trucks were coming up behind them again.

The windshield suddenly fell free. Adrian noted that it slid down the hillside and across the road where it switched back ahead. He lost track of it after that. It hardly mattered. He had more significant things to worry about. Yuri and Voril had ducked below the seats now. He couldn't, not and drive. The shots were badly aimed but a couple had come close enough to give him a good scare.

He rounded the first and second switchbacks. He could see a large, apparently log built home ahead with several major outbuildings close by. Smoke rose from the chimney, giving him hope there was someone home. Then he saw the remains of the windshield in the road in front of him.

It had come to rest in a very bad spot. He had no maneuvering room. The road just beyond it ran between two huge rocks. There was no driving around either rock; one side was steep hill up and the other equally steep hill down. He made what he hoped was the best of a bad set of choices and tried to put it between the tires.

He missed. At the last second a bullet flying by his ear caused him to flinch slightly, jerking the wheel a bit to the right, taking the left tire over the rim of broken metal and glass. It bounced up and was immediately caught up in the undercarriage. The spinning driveshaft, open and unprotected on this model, whipped it into the more delicate lines above. Lines were severed, fluids escaped, controls failed. One brake locked, one did not engage at all.

The steering suddenly became very loose. Adrian tried to keep aimed between the rocks but it was impossible even for someone with his reflexes to avoid overcorrecting the wheel now. Then the left front brake locked up.

The van turned sideways and the front end slammed into the left hand rock. It bounced off, throwing the rear of the vehicle into the right hand rock. There were two more bounces before it stopped moving, broadside to the road, blocking it completely.

Voril was the first to move. He cut himself free of his jammed safety harness and gave the side door a solid kick. It fell off, allowing him free exit. He tossed the three bags out the door and turned to check on his friends. Yuri was already out of his harness and had been rather badly banged around because of it. But he could move and climbed out at Adrian's order. Adrian was bruised from slamming against the straps but was otherwise mostly unhurt aside from a couple of small glass cuts from the broken windows earlier.

In moments, the three of them were out of the van and dashing up the road.

The roar of a powerful engine and the smash of metal on metal announced the removal of the van from its useful roadblock position. Adrian glanced over his shoulder to see the first truck shoving its way past the ruined van, at least two guns out the windows pointed in their direction. Shit! They couldn't stay on the open, unprotected road anymore!

"They're through!" He yelled. "Break for cover!"

He jumped left, the other two broke right. A pair of bullets sang through the air where they had just been. They had gained perhaps two hundred meters toward the house and had another three to four hundred to go. The land was still somewhat steep right here but not as bad as it had been on the other side of the rocks. He ducked from rock to rock and saw Yuri and Voril doing the same.

Then his boot heel came down in the mouth of a small animal burrow. The soil was far softer than he'd expected and gave under the impact of his jump. He twisted midair, trying to avoid falling. The boot heel though, stayed locked in the burrow mouth. There was a sharp pop from his knee as he fell.

Adrian rolled with the fall and bounced back to his feet. The right knee gave another pop as he forcefully straightened it. He dodged behind another rock, panting. That had been too close.

He was almost to the shelter of his next chosen rock when the knee went out from under him. He tumbled, managing to turn it into enough of a forward roll to gain the cover he sought. Several shots ricocheted off the rock as he climbed gingerly to his feet again.

He tried putting his weight on the right leg and the knee immediately gave way. A few quick tests told him he could hobble along if he only used the right leg very briefly and almost immediately caught the weight back on the left again. He was in deadly serious trouble.

"Adrian?" Yuri's voice came over the tiny Dreyfus comm. "I don't see you moving."

"I can't. I've done something to the right knee. It won't hold me." He told him grimly. "Take Voril and get away. Then come back and look after Kayla for me. It doesn't look like I'm going to get to do that myself."

"We'll get you out!" Voril cut in.

"Don't be an idiot! Using what? They're all armed and we aren't! Get out and come back for Kayla! Make sure she and the children make it! They matter now, more than I do."

"But . . ."

"I'll see to it, Captain." Yuri agreed and the comm went dead.

Adrian nodded. He could count on Yuri. He knew the score. He'd get that stupid kid out of the way and bring them both back for Kayla and the babies. He suddenly grinned mirthlessly, at least Voril had his bag as well as his own. They weren't going to find any ZAFT uniform on him. He shuddered to think of the kinds of trouble for Kayla that would cause.

He took one peek around the rock. Ah, ha. Given where the Blue Cosmos boys were, it might be possible to decoy them off Voril and Yuri. They tended to be cowards. If offered a wounded bird, would they find that a more tempting target than the two they knew were still healthy?

He looked around. There was another rock nearby that he could make for. It should expose him very briefly to at least two of them. They'd soon know they had a cripple to hunt down. He moved.

"Hey! Larry! The one over here's limpin'!"

"Yeah, I saw him too! He's movin' pretty bad."

Yes! Now, would they take the nice bait?

"Joe, Pete, Ricky!" A new voice shouted. "Jose and Mike say theirs is crippled! Bring the darts over here! Lets see if they work!"

Darts? Oh, maybe the drugs the police had been so concerned about. Wonderful. He'd always wanted to be the subject of an uncontrolled medical experiment by Blue Cosmos! Yeah, and if one believed that, he had some very nice oceanfront property in the local area here to sell them.

Adrian studied the land between his rock and the house. He wasn't going to make it the some two hundred meters he judged it still was to get there. That was just too far. But if he was lucky and clever, he might make it half way. He began his limping dash for the next rock.

He wasn't fired on this time. Somehow, that wasn't reassuring. But it did hint he might have a tiny bit of time here while they changed live rounds for these 'darts'. He lined up on the next rock and kept moving, determined to gain every scrap of ground they'd let him have.

He'd gained about a third of it when he felt something hit him in the hip. His hand slapped it immediately, snagging some kind of tube that he pulled away from his body. He reached his next bit of cover a few seconds later and paused to look at what he held.

It was a syringe. It looked like it had discharged a quarter of its load. He checked it and found a medical name on it he didn't recognize. It gave him no hints as to what it was going to do to him. He broke the needle on the rocks and made for his next goal, sure that to stop now was to die where he stood.

He was hit three more times. He removed them as soon as he felt them strike, hanging on to them so he could be sure to break them. Adrian realized he was getting a bit lightheaded as he reached the next rocks. He checked the syringes to find none had managed to get more than a quarter of its contents into him. Still, with the first one that was almost one full syringe's worth now. He snapped the needles and moved on.

He was aware he was staggering. Two more darts hit him. He was a good deal slower about getting them out than he had been. But he could also hear some really vicious cursing that seemed to indicate several shots had missed. He looked at these and was worried. They were both a bit over half empty. He snapped the needles, and realized he couldn't move anymore.

The bad knee wouldn't take any weight at all for even a few seconds. He fell back against the rock, only able to stay upright because of its support. The world was getting somewhat dim and the colors were all fading into grays. He could feel his heart and his breathing slowing. How odd, he was terrified out of his mind and his heart rate was dropping?

"Ooh, hey Mike he's over here!" There was a young man not much older than himself in front of him. But the eyes were ugly and the smile vicious.

"Hey, foreigner eh? And one of the really pretty ones." This was a new one, about the same age, with the same eyes and the same smile.

"Yeah, you think Larry'll mind if we show this one what his kind are good for?"

"Naw, we brought him down, we get him first. That's the rule Jose. Larry's got nothing to say about that."

They were as stupid as they were crude. They hadn't secured him or searched him for weapons yet. They were assuming their drug had fully incapacitated him already. That really, really was dumb of them. It was taking him down, yes, but it hadn't finished the job just yet. And they were both just too close.

Adrian suddenly dropped. He twisted as he did, landing on his right arm, the left over his head, balancing him against the rock. Before he could finish falling, he kicked out with his left foot. The solid boot heel made perfect contact with the Jose creature's family jewels. The man didn't even scream. He just folded over and collapsed right where he'd been standing.

Another twist and Adrian landed hip first, saving the already damaged right knee from taking the direct strike. He rolled and came up on his left arm. Jamming the left foot against a handy rock, he threw himself at the second man, his right arm cocked for the strike.

There was a third there by then, he could see him out of the corner of his eye. This one was lifting his rifle, getting set to slam it butt first into him. But the Coordinator was still faster. His right hand shot forward. The arm was less than two thirds extended when the heel of his palm met another set of family jewels. He completed the extension, folding this one up like paper as well. Then the rifle butt came down between his shoulders and the universe went instantly to black.

* * *

"Yeah that's what I said Kirby, all six of 'em. They're after three guys from a van they ran down in our drive." Howard was on the phone, sitting on the floor below the level where any shot was likely to hit him.

Maria Spotted Horse stood quietly by the living room wall, ready to duck back if a gun even looked like it might point remotely towards the house. Things were going much as she'd seen them in the water. But there were several possibilities that could come out of this fight and she needed to know which ones to be prepared for.

She'd seen the boys separated when the trucks had burst past the wrecked van. The Fox and the Jay were out of sight now, somewhere up the hillside on the north side of the house. First Kay was upstairs right now, watching that situation out the bedroom window. She was focused on the Eagle. He stood far too good a chance of getting himself killed in the next few minutes.

Instead of dying, he managed to take down both Jose Ramos and Mike Porterman. True, Pete Jones had immediately knocked him out but that wasn't important. He'd evaded the chance of death, which was what mattered. There would be more chances shortly but he'd survived this one. Even better, he'd taken the odds down. Neither Ramos nor Porterman were going to be a factor in the rest of this battle.

"Kirby, I don't think I can keep him out. He's got at least one hostage already. If he gets the other two . . . ." Howard was still talking to the sheriff. Maria sniffed. He was losing ground there. Besides, it wasn't the Eagle who would be the hostage that forced the family to back down.

"I hate stairs." First Kay announced, panting almost in her ear.

"What of the boys?"

"They're away clean." The other Medicine Woman told her. "And Ricky Tomlinson is sneaking around the barn."

"Alone?"

"All alone." First Kay confirmed.

"So, things are falling into place."

"Yeah. I just wish the Spirits had granted us Sight that went through to the end of this little war. I hate only knowing the first half of a battle."

Maria rolled her eyes. "You and me and every other person ever afflicted with such visions! You ready for what we do know?"

"Oh yeah. Got all my medicines set up. How about you?"

"Mine are ready too."

"And here comes your namesake."

"Right on time." Maria turned as the grand-daughter named for her joined them.

"Right on time for what this time, Gran?" General Grayhawk asked.

"Later. What were you up to?"

"Got a couple horses saddled. Alys is going with Kayla down to the low meadow hunting blind. She can't stay here and I don't want her going alone."

"They won't make it." First Kay told her. "Ricky Tomlinson is out back with a rifle."

Maria's bronze eyes froze, then went molten with rage. She was gone a second later. First Kay just shook her head.

"She really doesn't like that boy."

"Nobody with half a brain likes that boy." Maria Spotted Horse snorted as she turned her attention back out the front window. "She'll be too late to prevent anything though."

"Damn shame to lose two good horses."

"Better that bloodthirsty little weasel kills the horses than the girls."

"There is that."

"Damn it, Larry has degenerated into such a coward." Maria muttered.

"Doesn't take much in the guts department to kick an unconscious man." First Kay agreed coldly. "Hope he stops before he breaks any ribs."

Two shots came from the back of the house. They sounded like they came from somewhere beyond the ram barn. The two old women just looked at each other.

"What's that line from that play?"

"You mean the one about the world being a stage?"

"That's the one." Maria agreed. "And that was the sound of the curtain rising. We better get to our places."

She took one last look. Larry had quit kicking the Eagle and had tossed him over his shoulder now. Jones was supporting both Ramos and Porterman as they staggered toward the front door. But it was the happy grin on Joe Hopping Frog's face that seriously angered her. That young man was looking forward to the pain and suffering of others, very much looking forward to it. That one had a lot to answer for.

"Pop!" Jamie warned. "They're headed for the door. You better get off the phone!"

"You heard him Kirby? Yeah, yeah, I'll try. But you better get here in under forty-five minutes! There'll be people dead by that time." Howard hung up the phone.

Richard immediately picked it up and played with it.

"What do you think you're doing boy?" Howard snapped.

"Making very sure that if they check, the last number that shows up on here will be from a call made last night." Richard answered. "Or do you want them to know the sheriff has been chatting with you today?"

"Make it fast, Rich," Jamie hissed. "Larry's almost at the door!"

"Done!" He put it back on its cradle and moved quickly to join the rest of the family in the living room.

The front door boomed. Someone, probably Joe, was pounding on it with a rifle butt. From the sound of it, they were going out of their way to do as much damage to the door as they could.

"Hey Pop! I'm home! And I'm comin' the hell in!" Larry shouted as the battered door gave way.

* * *


	37. Chapter 37

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

I am putting these up one, two because I think I might aggravate a number of people if I didn't. The end of the second one will be bad enough for some. Part Two of Ito meets the Grayhawks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Kayla jumped when Maria grabbed her arm. "Get dressed in something warm, something you will stay warm in for hours. You can't be here when Larry gets in the door. And he will come in. Alys! Get over here!"

The younger girl came over immediately. "I want you to do the same thing I just told Kayla to do; dress in something warm you can stay warm in for hours. I've got to get her out of here before Larry gets in. You'll be going with her. She shouldn't be going alone. Got that?"

"Right. I'm going." Alys suited action to words and whipped up the stairs to her room.

"What are you going to do?" Kayla asked.

"Saddle you two some horses. Now move!"

It felt like desertion but Kayla knew her sister was right. If she was here when Larry and his Blue Cosmos friends, and that's who had to be with him, came in, she and the babies were as good as dead. She was pregnant enough now to be slightly clumsy as she was trying to adjust to a body with the center of gravity someplace other than where she was used to having it. So she was no longer quite as fast to get anything done as she'd been even three weeks ago. Then too, nothing fit right any more either. It took far too long to get ready and down to the back door.

Alys was already there of course. She helped Kayla get into her heavy sheepskin boots, hat, gloves and the long coat with its split skirts for riding. By the time she was ready, Maria had the dun gelding ready for her and up by the porch. Normally Kayla would be insulted by the idea she needed any help at all to get into a saddle. Now she just accepted it gratefully. It saved time and time was clearly not on her side. Alys was already up on the paint mare.

"Alys, I want you two to go to the hunting blind on the low meadow. It's out of the way, solidly built, has some supplies that are kept there and a lean-to for the horses so they're out of sight as well." Maria told her quickly. "Stay quiet unless you see it's me, Douglas, or Crystal. You got that?"

"Go to the low meadow blind. Stay out of sight until you, Doug or Crys comes for us. Yeah, got it."

The bronze eyes turned to her. "Do you understand?"

"Perfectly. I'll go, Maria. I won't endanger the family by staying here."

"No, you don't quite understand but we'll discuss it later." She stepped back and waved them off.

They trotted quickly through the yard and let themselves out the back gate. Alys went through first and swung aside to let Kayla pass. She closed the gate behind them. They immediately kicked the horses into a quick canter to cross the small home pasture. At the back gate, the training of a lifetime betrayed them.

Once again they stopped to open the gate. Alys leaned forward to pull up the latch and shoved it open, holding on to the gate rope as she did so. She rode forward at a walk to clear the gate for her sister. It was when she turned the paint mare to wait for Kayla that two rifle shots rang out.

The mare screamed once and dropped like a stone. The dun gelding gave one great jump and crashed to the ground. Kayla kicked her feet out of the stirrups and rolled out of the saddle as the gelding's body slammed into the frozen track. The dying horse kicked a few times, and then was still. Kayla hit fairly hard but the power of the strike was absorbed into the roll and she wasn't hurt.

She rolled four or five times before the energy was spent and she came to a stop face down in the sheep pasture. She raised her head carefully, not wanting to stop a bullet herself. Alys was on the ground beside her dead horse, trying to drag air into her lungs. She must have hit flat on her back and knocked the wind out of herself. And running toward them across the pasture was that bastard Ricky Tomlinson, rifle in hand.

She glanced around, looking for an escape route. There was none. They were right out in the open here. The nearest trees were over two hundred yards away. The nearest rocks of any usable size were further than that. And whatever else he was, Ricky was a crack shot. They'd never get more than ten feet if they tried to run.

So she did the sensible thing. She rolled the few feet over to her sister and grabbed her nose, tipped her head back, sealed her mouth over Alys' and blew into her lungs with all the air she could, trying to force them open again. It worked. Alys was coughing and still gasping a bit when Ricky got there but she wasn't lying helplessly on her back any longer.

"Well, well, lookit what we got here. Ol' Larry was right. You did try to sneak the bitch and her space monsters out."

When Alys looked up, Kayla recoiled. She'd never imagined her little sister could ever hold so much unadulterated hatred. Even Ricky backed a half step.

"Shut up you ugly blob of toxic waste!" She snarled.

"Now that's no way to talk to your future husband, girl."

"Isn't happening. And if you're really stupid enough to try, I'll geld you long before you can touch me."

Ricky's blue eyes flared with a rage that came close to matching Alys'. "The hell you will bitch! You'll learn soon enough just who's in charge here and it sure ain't you! Now get up! Your brother's got things to say to you about your support for this whore."

"You . . ."

"Later Alys." Kayla said firmly, interrupting her with a quick shake of the shoulder. "He's got a lot to answer for already. I don't want him adding shooting you to the list."

The younger girl just looked over at the dead horses. "Autumn Chief and Quilt Patches, yeah, he's got some answering to do."

"Oh, I'm so scared." He mocked.

Both girls looked at him, eyes cold and flat. His laughter died. He jerked the gun at them, an answering snarl on his face now. They stood silently and headed back to the house. But if he got too close, they'd both turn and stare dead eyed at him until he backed off again. They held him off all the way to the back door.

* * *

Yuri crouched behind a massive stone, caught in place by indecision. He'd managed to tow Voril this far but the younger Elite had refused to go any further. He too was watching what was happening on the flat below the slope where they were hiding.

They'd been concentrating on Adrian and hadn't noticed the two riding off until they'd cleared the shadow of the outbuildings. Just about the time that black haired bastard quit kicking the Captain and slung him over his shoulder instead, they heard two shots come from the girls' direction. They saw both horses fall and their riders go down with them. And they saw what had to be the rifleman run toward the fallen women.

"Got any bright ideas on what we do now Yuri?" Voril asked, anxiety and anger blending equally in his voice.

"Not yet." He admitted.

"Well kindly think of something! I don't plan to sit on this hill while they butcher Adrian!"

"Neither do I! And I am thinking!"

"Think faster!"

"Shut up!"

Inside, the key was getting inside. Trouble was, they knew exactly nothing about how the house was laid out or how many people were in there or if any of them could fight or about a dozen more useful things to know before one invaded a place. The thought of going in that blind just about gave him hives. But it looked like they weren't going to have a choice about it. They had to go in if they were even going to pretend to try to rescue Adrian.

"Yuri! Someone just came out the back!"

His attention shifted. There was another woman down there now. She moved like an experienced soldier too. And she was armed; there was a familiar Earth Forces service rifle in her hands. She ghosted across the yard and vanished into one of the buildings.

Yuri reached into the pouch at his side for his glasses. He needed to know something about the two women and their guard who were now slowly walking back from where the horses had been killed. It was pretty obvious this new one was here to rescue them.

The guard looked like a vicious piece of work. He pretty clearly hated at least one of the two he was herding back to the house. The one girl was a younger version of Kayla, very lovely and very, very pissed off. The other girl was Kayla.

"We have a problem here." He told Voril.

"That being?"

"We have to stop that would-be rescuer. She's got one gun. The guard has another. We may or may not be able to get it. But if she fires, the rest of them inside will come checking and they all have both rifles and pistols. At least three of them are still in fighting shape. We can't assume the wounded two are so far down they can't be left to guard everyone inside either. The taller of the two being walked back is Kayla. We can't take the chance she could get hurt."

Voril looked over the ground. "He'll be in the shadow of the buildings from here in a few moments. We'll be able to move then."

"Right. Don't forget the Captain's bag."

They started down the slope the moment the guard's head disappeared behind the first outbuilding. It was a fast and a challenging trip. They needed to avoid being seen by the guard and they had to keep out of sight from the house as well since they had no idea who might be peeking out a window. That aside, there was also a cactus to avoid falling on and a barbed wire fence to not get caught on as well. They managed it all, arriving at the back of the building the rescuer had gone into only slightly winded.

"You know, I'm glad it's this cold and the local snakes have all gone wherever it is they go in cold weather." Yuri said softly. "I don't think I could have coped with a rattlesnake too."

"They hibernate." Voril said absently, as he tried to carefully look in a very dirty window to see if he could locate the rescuer.

"They what?"

"They hibernate." He repeated. "They get together in large numbers in sheltered, underground locations and sleep in big piles for a few months."

"You know the oddest things, you know that?"

"What?"

"Never mind. Can you see her?"

"Not through this sorry excuse for a window."

Damn! He didn't dare open the door. That would alert her that there was company and she just might shoot first and ask questions second. Yuri gave the building another once-over. This time he paid attention to a small opening about six meters to the right of their position.

It was on the other side of a low fence that enclosed a grassless area that looked like it got very muddy when it rained. It also seemed to be pretty densely covered in small, dark, roundish, pebble like items that he suspected weren't pebbles at all considering the whole area smelled rather like an ill kept latrine. He looked at the opening, decided it definitely was large enough to get through and suddenly wished fervently that he was back in his old GINN. You didn't have to worry about the contents of a barnyard if you were in a mobile suit.

He gave a tiny sigh of resignation and tapped Voril. When he looked down, Yuri pointed to the small opening. The younger pilot nodded and moved out, hopping the fence effortlessly. Yuri followed about three seconds later.

The pebbles were exactly what he thought they were. Fortunately they weren't fresh. Unfortunately they were frozen. And fairly round. They made the footing treacherous.

A look inside the opening showed them a chute leading into a more open area. The woman they were looking for was not in sight. The floor of the structure was poured concrete, something Yuri was glad to see. He'd been dreading trying to cross some squeaking wood floor to sneak up on the stranger.

Voril set both bags he was carrying to one side and slipped in. He moved up to the front edge of the chute and stiffened. He slipped back a bit, looked over his shoulder and nodded. He'd found the woman they were looking for. Yuri set his bag with the other two and also eeled his way through the opening to join Voril.

He peeked around the edge. The woman was down on one knee by a gap in the boards of the wall less than ten meters away. The strap of the rifle was wrapped around her left arm and the butt was resting on her left thigh. She was still as a stone.

Oh yes, this was a combat veteran all right. It was there in the stance and the relaxed yet absolute stillness. It was even more evident in the casually competent way she held the gun. He sat back thoughtfully.

A few seconds later he turned to Voril and spoke very softly. "Silence matters and you move both faster and more quietly than I can. You've seen her, think you can take her and keep her quiet long enough for me to explain things to her?"

He gave it some thought and took a second look at both the woman and the path he'd have to take to reach her before he answered. "Yes. I can do it. But don't be far behind because I don't know how good she is and I could get surprised."

He shifted slightly and made sure there was good traction under his feet for his first charge. He checked his route one more time, then moved. Yuri watched, amazed at how fast and how silent Joule was. Even among Coordinators, he was unusually skilled at this.

The woman didn't know he was coming until he was almost on her. She had no time to react before he was there, one hand and arm pinning her right arm and covering her mouth, the other securing the gun and controlling her left arm. His long legs wrapped around hers and he had them both down on the floor in seconds.

Then Yuri reached them. He carefully pried the gun out of her hand, unclipping the carrying sling at both ends to remove it without having to work the strap off her arm. He set the weapon aside and glanced out the gap in the boards. Kayla and the younger girl, who had to be a sister with those looks, were still a good fifty meters or more away, the gunman a good ten more behind them. It was safe to talk for a little bit here.

"I'm sorry to have done this but I can't let you fire. There are still at least three of them capable of fighting inside the house. If you shoot this bastard, there's no telling who they'll decide to shoot in there but the highest chance is our friend will get hurt. And if they come hunting, there's just you with a weapon to meet them. Those odds stink."

She wasn't fighting Voril. In fact, she was studying him with a disconcertingly look of recognition. He gave Joule a nod and he took his hand off her mouth. She turned her head to get a look at him and one eyebrow went up. Yuri wasn't sure what that meant.

"Well, neither of you is Captain Ito so I'll assume that's who Larry has inside then."

Yuri froze and he saw Voril stiffen. "Excuse me?"

"Lieutenant, give me a little credit please. I've done a bit of research ever since my sister came home and announced she was pregnant and the kid was a Coordinator. Then too, I flat out asked her for the story. She told me. You I have on file. You're Lieutenant Yuri Lubbek, formerly wingman to Captain Ito and now aide to Commander Thoms. I think the kid wrapped around me is Elite Voril Joule, currently Ito's wingman and relative of a much better known Joule with a much nastier temper."

"And who the hell are you?" Voril demanded, shaken by the accuracy of this woman's information.

"Brigadier General Maria Grayhawk, a.k.a. the Bronze Spider." She replied calmly.

Voril made a rather strangled noise. Yuri found himself sitting on the barn floor. And General Grayhawk was silently laughing at them both.

Yuri gave himself a violent shake. "All right, Spider. Do you understand why we stopped you then?"

"Oh yes, I do. And now that I know who's in play here, I'll go along with you on this. I take it you plan to sneak into the house and take them all there?"

"That was the idea. I was hoping you would be willing to tell us something about the layout. Going in blind is hard on success."

"Are you willing to listen to me regarding how to best protect the family?"

"Yes." Voril replied immediately as he unwound himself from her and sat up. "Your people will, if things don't fall completely apart, be the Captain's in-laws. We want to keep them safe too."

"You have a deal." She said, sitting up as well.

Yuri glanced out the gap. Kayla and the other sister were getting close now. It was time to be very silent. He pointed and put his finger to his lips. They both nodded. But the General also made a turning motion as though she wanted them to look away. He frowned at her.

She rolled her eyes at him in exasperation. When that got her nowhere, she stared hard at him, making him very uncomfortable. Then she brought two fingers up to her focused eyes and moved them out along her direct line of sight until she poked him hard in the forehead. She hit him three times before he got it.

The pressure of a stare. Some people could feel when they were being watched. She knew this gunman and this suggested very strongly he was one of those. He waved to Voril and put his hand up so it would cut his sight of the passing group. Joule got the message and also looked away. They stayed like that until they heard the back door slam.

"He feels the pressure of eyes does he?" Yuri asked.

"Ricky? Oh yeah. Hypersensitive son-of-a-bitch." Maria replied grimly. "You wanted to know how the house is laid out. Let's use the dust on the floor here."

She began drawing and describing the structure of the Grayhawk home. It had some definite infiltration possibilities. The back door was not visible from the living room or dining room, and those rooms were the only ones large enough to hold everyone and still leave enough space between the family and the intruders to permit them to effectively guard them. It was also designed to allow people to flow in a full circle around the lower floor. There were no doors in the way of this either. The two pilots were soon asking questions about where the furniture was and the like to aid their planning. Between the three of them, a strike plan was quickly developing.

* * *

Maria Spotted Horse saw the two girls coming and warned First Kay. She in turn saw to it both Janet and Howard were aware that the escape had been thwarted. So Howard was standing, cold eyed and angry, when Ricky shoved Kayla hard as she came through the door, clearly trying to knock her off her feet. She stumbled and might have gone down if Jamie hadn't suddenly crossed twelve feet of open space to catch her.

"Hey, you don't got no permission to get up!" Jones yelled. "You sit down and let the whore fall. She's got a lot worse coming to her."

"Jamie, you let her fall." Larry ordered.

"Rot in hell." Jamie told them both as he helped his sister to a chair.

"You seem to forget, you got something to lose here." Hopping Frog chortled as he waved his rifle at three small children. "You better learn how to do what you're told."

"I see your courage still comes out of a bottle and is in direct proportion to how many buddies you have clustered around you." Kayla said coldly.

"Shut up bitch!"

"Why? You're planning to murder me anyway."

"Hey!" Ricky snapped. "Where do you think you're going? We have business."

"The hell we do." Alys replied bluntly as she stalked past him.

He grabbed for her arm but she evaded him. "You don't walk out on me!"

"Watch me!" Alys snarled as she kept going.

He made a major mistake at that point. He charged after her, intent of catching her. Alys timed it perfectly. He was moving too quickly to stop in time when she wheeled around and threw a straight punch at his nose. She put her whole body behind that blow and he walked right into it.

His head snapped back. Blood fountained from the broken nose. And Ricky Tomlinson crashed down on his ass, felled by a girl eight years his junior.

"I told you to go to hell! What part of hell don't you get? Stay away from me Tomlinson! Or the next one'll break something that matters!"

"Hey! Whadda you think you're doin' bitch?"

"You shut up, Frog, or I'll deck you too!" Alys promised in cold fury.

She turned her frozen gaze on her brother. "Larry, don't you ever call me 'sister' again. From today forward I don't have a brother named Lawrence. Because no brother of mine would do what you're doing. Since you are doing this, you aren't my brother. Now, drop dead you bastard!"

"Mind your mouth bitch."

She gave him the finger and went to stand beside Kayla's chair. Maria nearly smiled. This was shaping up fairly well. Pete and Ricky retreated to the kitchen for several minutes to get ice for the nosebleed. Even when they came back, Ricky was no longer really an effective fighter. It's hard to be an efficient big, bad, evil villain when you're stuck in a chair with an ice bag half the size of Pike's Peak covering your nose. That left Larry with three real fighters remaining. The odds were now overwhelmingly against him.

"Hey, Larry, I wanna play with gene freak. Wake him up now." Joe suddenly demanded.

Ah yes, now what do you do Lawrence? You need Hopping Frog right now and he knows it. You have plans for slowly killing that young Coordinator in front of the whole family; to make sure they get the message about how serious you are about destroying them. Then you will kill your sister and her children. But only after you've proved what a ruthless enforcer of genetic purity you are. And now Hopping Frog wants to upset your plans. He wants to take the Coordinator apart himself. So, how badly do you need him at the moment? Because if you give him the Coordinator, you're giving him command too. I wonder if you've figured that out yet. Maria thought to herself.

Larry studied his cohort in crime until the other squirmed under his unrelenting stare. Hopping Frog started out meeting his eyes readily enough but that didn't last. Long before the stretched silence ended, the older man had lost the contest.

"Sure," Larry agreed once it was clear just who was still in charge. "We can wake him up. He took a hefty dose so it'll probably take a while before he comes out of it anyhow."

As her grandson made a show out of giving the unconscious boy a simple shot, Maria suddenly felt a small breeze. There was air moving from the shattered front room windows to the kitchen. The back door was open. Then that slight air movement stopped. The door had closed. She smiled grimly. Everyone was here now.

Larry dragged the Coordinator out from behind the coffee table where he'd been lying. He jabbed him in the buttock with the needle, right through his clothing, and pushed down hard on the plunger. That forced the drug out into the tissues in one rapid spurt, stretching and tearing the injected area as the new material came in too quickly to be absorbed. That done, he dragged him over in front of his sister Kayla and dropped him, adding a solid kick in the ribs just for the hell of it.

He still wore the Dreyfus uniform. He was filthy, there was blood clotted in his hair, and dirt caked into the blood. It was impossible to identify his hair color. If he'd been dropped on his back, Maria knew the girl would have recognized him; Larry had been careful so far to leave his face alone. But face down like this, she didn't know who he was. That lack of recognition would be the saving of both their lives.

For Larry would have gleefully torn him apart, conscious or no, in front of Kayla if he'd known who he was. And Kayla would have killed him for it. She in turn would have died at the hand of either Ricky or Joe.

"I wanna play with him." Joe grumbled. "How long before he wakes up?"

"Maybe ten minutes." Larry told him coldly. "Just be patient. You can kick him in that bum knee in five to see if its starting to work."

"All right!"

Howard stared at his son in cold wrath. "Alys is right. Lawrence Grayhawk would not do the things you are doing. Since you are, Lawrence is dead. I don't know who you are but you better find a name other than Grayhawk to use because that one doesn't belong to you. I no longer have a son named Lawrence. We will bury him with the proper ceremonies next week."

"Don't give me that crap Pop."

"I do not know you. You are no son of mine. Do not presume to call me 'Pop'."

Larry rolled his eyes. "Mom, you want to talk some sense into him?"

"I am not your mother. My son is dead." Janet replied in an empty voice. "You killed him. I have nothing to say to my son's murderer."

Maria watched that smash through the shell of indifference he'd been cultivating. This was not the reaction he'd planned for. He'd anticipated overwhelming the family with his power. He would cow them all and then they would follow his orders. He'd never considered that they might reject him as one dead to them.

"Jamie! What the hell is this?" Larry screamed.

"The consequences of killing my brother, you bastard."

"What did you do with my twin?" John demanded hoarsely. "Where is Moon Lynx my brother? Why did you kill him and leave me to go on with no twin at my back? May the dark Spirits eat your black heart!"

All five of the younger Grayhawks stood as one and turned their backs to him. They said nothing. They didn't need to.

"You know, whoever you are now, I could almost feel sorry for you if you hadn't chosen this of your own free will." Kayla told him quietly. "The father of my children lost twenty three of his family to the attack on Junius Seven. But he can at least remember them as loving and caring for him. You, you've thrown everyone away. You don't have anyone to love or care for you any more. And it was all your choice to have it this way. I can't feel sorry for anyone that stupid."

Maria had been catching flickers of movement in both the front room and the dining room as this rejection had developed. She couldn't see who it was clearly, they were moving with too much care not to be seen. But they had been steadily working their way closer and closer to the doorways guarded by Ricky and Pete on the one side and Joe on the other. Suddenly she knew they'd better be close enough. Larry had just snapped.

He staggered to his feet, staring at the family that was rejecting him. Him, they were rejecting him! But they were going to accept this bitch and the crossbreed space monsters she was carrying? Well, fuck them then!

"You wanna know something?" He said derisively. "You can go to hell!"

"Shoot her in the belly!" Joe yelled. "I wanna see the monsters die first!"

"Sure, why not?" Larry agreed, his hand going to his belt.

Things abruptly came apart at the seams. Two war cries came from the dining room. A young man with very dark hair and only one eye shot through the door and slammed into Pete Jones. Somehow, Jones' rifle was suddenly midair in several pieces, having never gone off and Pete himself was out cold on the floor.

Right behind the dark haired boy, the Bronze Spider jumped Ricky Tomlinson. The heavy butt plate on her service issue weapon smashed into Ricky's prized rifle, shattering it. The powerful strike carried past the broken weapon to crash into his lower abdomen. He survived only because the rifle had absorbed enough of the blow to prevent the rest from rupturing his intestines or bladder. But he was writhing on the floor, in pain so intense he couldn't even scream. And General Maria Grayhawk was very, very happy about that.

There was no verbal warning from the front room at all. One instant Joe Hopping Frog was yelling for Kayla's blood, the next he was down on the floor with a broken skull, a tall, very thin boy with pale gray hair in a Dreyfus western Pacific uniform standing over him, old fashioned police club in hand. That boy immediately shifted his focus to Larry.

But Larry was fifteen feet from either the Fox or the Jay. And fast as the Fox moved, this time the Natural was faster. Larry had the pistol out and aimed.

"Die Bitch!" He screamed as he squeezed of the first shot.

There were three Coordinators in the room. A fact Larry had overlooked. Adrian Ito came up off the floor with no warning. He made no attempt to attack. He simply put himself between Kayla and Larry's pistol.

The first round caught him dead center in the chest, lifting him off his knees and throwing him back towards Kayla. The second, third, and fourth were all placed within a few inches of the first. The fifth hit the ceiling as Voril's club came down to destroy the man's arm. There was no sixth.

Ito fell. He managed to turn as he did, allowing him to see that Kayla and the children were not injured at all. Maria watched as his face lit briefly with absolute joy as he understood he'd been able to save them. Then the eyes flickered and went blank, the body suddenly collapsing as though all the bones had vanished.

In those few seconds, Kayla recognized him. And realized what he'd done. And what it cost.

"ADRIAN!"

* * *


	38. Chapter 38

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Part Three of Ito meets the Grayhawks. This is more Yuri has Opinions though. Oh, and yes, the new people do have a reason for being there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Lance Thoms strode briskly through the main doors of the Ito Project's central reception hall. He was getting tired of the silence coming from Earth. His executive officer and two of his best people had landed in North America five days ago. There had been no word since then. The situation was unacceptable. Dr. Ito was damned well going to talk to him! Adrian was his Second, damn it! The old man had no right to close up like an emergency air seal during a hull breach!

He was three strides past the door when he realized things were very abnormal. There was no one at the receptionist's station and both guard booths were also empty. The three people who should be manning those stations were searching through the heavy plantings that decorated the vast space that was the main reception area. There were two nurses and Dr. Serin Ito principal assistant, Dr. Leah Sakarov helping in the search.

Serin herself was with a small group of women and children at the back of the area. There appeared to be three or four civilians, maybe as many children and a half dozen of the medical staff there with her. He stopped, uncertain what he should do.

"Dr. Ito, ma'am! He doesn't seem to be up here." One of the nurses called.

Serin walked up quickly. "He has to be here somewhere. The security cameras haven't caught him leaving the area."

"I understand Doctor, but he isn't up here. We've searched this section thoroughly." The nurse replied.

Serin hissed in frustration and then seemed to notice Lance for the first time. Her eyes lit up. He had the sudden feeling he should have left while the going was good. That look did not suggest anything he was going to enjoy.

"Ah, Commander, how fortunate you dropped by just now. I need someone to guard this end of the room while I have the team extend the search toward the back. Just sing out if you see him and I'll take care of the rest."

"If I see who, Serin?" Lance asked. "Are they armed, dangerous, insane, or simply determined not to take some medication you think they need?"

She stopped and blinked at him. "Eh, why, no, none of those. He's about three, thin for a child that age, is under a meter tall, has dark chocolate hair and deep topaz eyes. He's from Earth and is very confused and afraid of Coordinators even though he is one of us. It's a long story. Will you just keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't go dashing off down one of the corridors please?"

A Coordinator child from Earth who was afraid of other Coordinators? That didn't make any sense at all. However, he just nodded agreement and took up a parade rest stance right where he was. He could see all three of the front exits leading off the hall from this spot so there was no logical point to moving.

The search beat its way through the decorative plants toward the back of the hall. To Lance Thom's experienced eye, it was something less than as thorough as the participants wanted to think it was. Especially if the target being sought really was a small child. Too many of the searchers were overlooking spots they themselves couldn't fit into to hide, ignoring the fact the child could.

So the Commander was not at all surprised when he noticed a few plants on his left quivering a bit. He didn't turn his head at all but even so, he had no trouble following the child's progress through the vegetation. He was being careful but there were a lot of plants in those beds and he was touching some of them no matter how he tried not to.

Lance very carefully looked away just far enough to make the child think he couldn't see him when he reached the end of one bed and had to cross to another. In fact, he really couldn't. But he could catch the impression of movement from the corner of his eye: thus he knew when the little boy had made the crossing and it was safe to turn his head back again.

He let the child move four times. The fourth time, he chose a bed that was both relatively small and fairly isolated from the rest of the plantings. When the boy bumped one large brushy plant hard enough to make the branches openly wave, Lance let himself notice it.

He could just make out the broken outline of the child buried in the vegetation. He had gone very still just as soon as Lance had turned his head toward the waving bush. Unable to actually see the boy, the Commander was also unable to really judge how to best approach him. He settled for going straight in.

He walked over in a calm, unhurried manner. About three meters or so from the raised platform of the bed of decorative plants, he stopped and went down on one knee. He left his right hand on his raised right knee and let the left fall to rest on his belt.

From down here the boy was mostly visible. He matched Serin's description perfectly except for one detail. She hadn't mentioned that he was frightened half to death.

"Hello, I'm Commander Thoms. What's your name?" It was inane and childish but it might not add to the fright if he did something so very normal.

The boy didn't answer. Lance just waited. He didn't stare at the child, that would only make him more nervous than he already was, but he did watch him while pretending to be 'looking' at the plants around him.

After about ten minutes of this, the child was visibly calmer. He'd even stepped forward once so he could see around a rather large cluster of leaves. He seemed to be searching for something in Lance, something he clearly wasn't finding. Whatever it was, the lack was plainly both baffling and somewhat reassuring him at the same time.

"You're a ZAFT!" The announcement was an interesting mix of denunciation and question.

"Yes," Lance agreed gently, not sure where this was going but quite sure only the truth would do here. "I'm a Commander in the ZAFT."

"But Daddy said . . . .," he faltered, openly confused now. "Daddy said ZAFT are space monsters! How come you're a ZAFT? You aren't a monster, are you?"

Lance could feel his eyes widening in shock. Serin had told him this child was a Coordinator! What Coordinator parent told their child the ZAFT was made up of space monsters? That was something he'd expect from the radicals of Blue Cosmos!

"Ah, no, not that I know of." Lance replied, too startled to think of anything better.

Suddenly the child came out of the flowering bushes to stand on the bricks that edged the top of the bed's rim. He glanced back, as though astonished to find himself out of his cover. When he looked forward again, the Commander was not surprised to see tears standing in the topaz eyes. Whatever was going on here, it was putting this little boy through a very rough emotional ride right now.

"Daddy, my Daddy, he's a sojer in the Erf Force! He fights space monsters so the erf will always be blue and pure." The child faltered, then suddenly sat down on the rim of the bed, tears falling.

"But my sister, she broke her arm and the doctor said she was a space monster! An' then he said Mommy was one too! An' then he said I was! An', . . . . an' . . . ."

As the boy collapsed into heartbroken sobs, everything suddenly made sense. Lance moved fairly slowly but the child was too far gone in misery to notice him any longer. He gently picked the boy up and held him, letting him cry into his shoulder.

His father was an EA soldier. One with strong Blue Cosmos leanings apparently. How or why such a man would marry a Coordinator girl was something he couldn't fathom but apparently he had. Maybe she hadn't told him what she was. On Earth lately, keeping your mouth shut could save your life after all. But then how had she arranged for the children to be made Coordinators too?

"You found him I see." Serin Ito said quietly.

"Yes," Lance agreed heavily. "What is the story here? He's told me his father's in the EA and pretty Blue Cosmos sympathetic. Why did he marry the mother? And how did she arrange to make the children Coordinators?"

"We don't have all the details yet but apparently she was orphaned quite young and later adopted. Her adoptive family was Natural and very, very traditional in outlook. She was raised to play a gender role we usually regard as having been obsolete for a hundred years or more. No one seems to have known she was a Coordinator and the way she was brought up worked to suppress any expression of her abilities. Her adoptive father more or less arranged the marriage to a young officer three years her junior. She agreed to it since he was handsome and, at least at that point, kind." Serin sighed and shook her head.

"That last didn't last unfortunately. He seems to be one of those people who has to have someone to take out their frustrations on and once married, she became that outlet. His family offered some protection whenever they visited and she became friends with a couple of them. So when their daughter was injured and discovered to be a Coordinator, followed by checks that turned up her heritage and the boy's, it was to her husband's oldest sister that she turned for help when he became violently abusive and dangerous to the children. The sister put her in touch with the network that smuggles our people out of North America and gets them up here to the Plants. I haven't been able to get any more out of her yet, not even her real name."

"How did she make them Coordinators then?" Lance asked, puzzled.

"She swears she didn't." Serin replied.

He raised one eyebrow in doubtful question. While his conversations with old Roland had taught him it was possible for a Natural/Coordinator cross to produce Coordinator children without help, it had also taught him just how long the odds against it were. He might be able to believe one of the kids was a Coordinator, but not that it had happened twice. Even if they should be twins, the gender split assured they came from two different conception events. The odds of that happening were so long it wasn't worth discussing.

Serin for her part arched an eyebrow right back at him. "Tell me, did you read the copy of that old genetics book I sent you?"

"The one by that Dr. Morrison? Yes, I did. Why?"

"The father appears to be from a Morrison Plan family. I haven't done any kind of work-up yet but the simple screening we did to verify the three of them are, indeed, Coordinators turned up the almost frighteningly clean genetics of a Morrison line as the other half of the children. And as we learned with Adrian and his Kayla, when you cross Coordinator and Morrison lines, the odds of getting Coordinator children suddenly rise to close to one hundred percent."

More pieces abruptly fell into place. Now he understood how the girl could have married a man with such Blue Cosmos leanings and how the kids came out Coordinators despite that. No wonder their father had turned dangerous on them! If he really believed any of that crap those rabid dogs put out, well, finding himself married to a 'space monster' and the father of two more must have just about pushed the man over the edge.

"What's his name?" Lance asked as he stood up, the now cried out and almost asleep child still on his shoulder.

"His real name is still unknown but he's going by Howie. His mother is calling herself Lynn and the sister is supposed to be Sarah but she forgets to answer to it."

"I see."

He followed Serin Ito to the very back of the reception hall and a smallish conversation area there. Four women sat there whose dress said they weren't from any Plant. None of them looked to be more than mid twenties at the oldest and two were probably still in their teens. Three children sat with them.

Lance had no trouble deciding which family was little Howie's. The little girl looked to be the same age and had the same dark chocolate hair. Her eyes were a bright chestnut brown instead of her brother's topaz but the shape of the face was almost identical otherwise.

Her mother looked to be the oldest of the women in the group, which still probably made her three or four years younger than Lance was. She had the same chocolate hair as the children but her eyes were a pure sapphire blue. She was slender, and had the look of a frightened fawn. He found himself wanting to make that go away. There was a much stronger woman in there, he knew it. She wouldn't have succeeded in bringing her children to the Plants if she was as weak as her expression suggested.

She jumped to her feet when she realized he was carrying her son. Lance was not surprised any longer to see the mix of fear and longing in her eyes. She was afraid of him but she clearly wanted the boy back.

"Please, . . ." she started to say when he held up his free hand to stop her.

"He's asleep." The Commander said softly. "If you keep your voice down, he may stay that way. He's had a very tiring day."

"Oh, yes, thank you." She replied just as softly as she reached out for him.

Lance carefully transferred the sleeping boy from his shoulder to his mother's arms. He muttered something once, then snuggled down happily. Thoms reached over and smoothed the tousled hair. He smiled at the girl.

"He's a good boy. He reminds me of my son at that age."

"Oh, you have children?" She looked confused, as though the idea of children in the Plants had never occurred to her. Perhaps it hadn't. He'd heard enough completely stupid stories while stationed down there to understand why an Earth-raised girl, especially one who grew up thinking she was a Natural, might be that ignorant.

"Just the one." He replied. "I don't spend as much time with him as I should. Maybe with peace coming that will change."

"Peace, yes, we all hope for something better with this peace."

Lance nodded. "Yes, we do. Well, I'll be going. You have the boy back safe and sound now."

He gave her a small bow and turned away.

"Wait!" She called softly. "Please, I don't even know who to thank."

"Commander Lance Thoms, Thoms Team."

"Thank you, Commander." She smiled tentatively.

"You're welcome, Miss?"

"Re, ah, Lynn, Lynn Daws." She fumbled the name.

"You're welcome Miss. Daws." Lance returned as though he'd not noticed the stumble over the name.

This time he did leave. He'd come here for a reason and it did not involve fascinating young Coordinator women from Earth and their frightened children. He was here to see Roland Ito about his silence. But it was the face of 'Lynn Daws' that followed him up to the old man's office.

* * *

The universe was moving in slow motion. Yuri had all the time in the world, now that it was too late to matter. The pieces of the stupid guard's cheap, breakdown rifle were still spinning lazily through the air and his unconscious body hadn't quite reached the floor yet. A tall, lean young man with the unmistakable look of the Grayhawks, handsome face contorted with rage, was bringing some kind of pistol to up to bear on Kayla. And neither he nor Voril were going to be able to get there in time to stop him. They had come all this way, only to lose at the very end!

It took a second for the movement to register. Then he realized Adrian was awake and was going to do something. His heart jumped, hope flaring for an instant. It was replaced by horror only moments later as he recognized just what his friend and commander intended to do.

But just as he was too far away to stop the shooter, he was also too far to save Adrian Ito. He could only watch, as he jumped toward the slaughter, as his friend stopped all four rounds the bastard fired, saving what mattered more to him than his own life. He saw Adrian turn and look up at Kayla and the shock of recognition and understanding that passed over her face before loss dominated everything else there. And he saw his friend suddenly go that peculiar bonelessly limp that he associated with only one thing.

"ADRIAN!" Kayla's scream filled the room to the exclusion of all other sound.

Yuri was suddenly back in normal time. Adrian's body was still falling. Filled with an irrational need to prevent any more damage to it from hitting the floor, Yuri threw himself to his knees and slid under Adrian's head and shoulders before they could strike the ground. He stared down into the amber eyes but they were empty now and there was neither breath nor heartbeat that he could find under his frantic fingers.

"'RIN!" He shouted. "Damn it 'Rin!"

The sharp sound of someone being slapped abruptly cut off Kayla's screaming. Yuri looked up, enraged, to find an equally angry old woman standing over him. She had her hand back just in case she needed to do it a second time.

"Shut up!" The crone snapped. "Or are you so damn blind you can't see there's no blood? Those bullets didn't go through! They didn't even get into him! Now get out of the way! First Kay and I need room to work!"

She looked up and caught sight of Voril glaring daggers at her. "You, boy, come get this silly girl and take her over there! Set her down and keep her out of the way! He isn't dead yet but he doesn't have much time and it's being wasted right now!"

There was a second old woman suddenly beside him, kneeling at Adrian's side. She was carefully but quickly undoing his belt and then the black uniform tunic. Voril, still pissed but grasping the situation and understanding it wasn't the time to start a fight with the old bat, was helping a stumbling Kayla toward a large, heavily overstuffed chair nearby.

The second old lady, having gotten the tunic open, startled Yuri by undoing Adrian's belt and unzipping his pants. The first one was now down on the other side. As soon as the fly was open, she grabbed the dark blue undertunic and cut it right up the front from waist band to collar. They both peeled back the half on their side of Adrian's body.

Yuri stared at what lay there. He'd forgotten about the large silver disc the old shaman had pawned off on Adrian. It lay on his chest now, badly distorted, with four bullets splashed on it. None of them had managed to penetrate it. His 'spirit talisman' lay just above it, touching the top rim.

"Well, I see you boys stopped at Charlie's place coming up here." The second old woman, had the other one called her First Kay, said grimly. "Be glad you did, he'd be dead now without that."

"He may yet." The other one growled. "That was four shots from a Lugar at point blank range. Charlie's talisman's are damn good but they aren't foolproof. He's still taken the impact straight on, right over the heart and lungs. The talisman will have spread it some but still, he's been hammered."

She looked at the disc. "I still don't see how it managed to stop all four. He's been living right."

"No, that's not it." First Kay said suddenly, shock and no little awe in her voice. "Look at his spirit talisman! He had help, sister."

The angry eyes turned to the smaller piece. Yuri looked at it as well. It looked no different from the last time he'd seen it. But the old woman rocked back on her heels, eyes going very round.

"Coyote!"

"Who?" A good-looking older man demanded, shock in his voice.

"Coyote! The Trickster's power is all over this talisman!"

"Oh," Yuri said thoughtfully, "maybe that's what that crazy old shaman was talking about."

Both women were bent over Adrian, gently poking and prodding as they tried to determine the extent of his injuries. But they clearly heard his remark as they glanced at each other briefly before returning to their patient. They did lift the battered silver disc off and over his head though and laid it beside Yuri's left knee.

"Just what did Charlie tell you about Coyote?" First Kay asked suddenly.

"That he'd come by during our Journey's to talk to Adrian and that dealing with him was either very dangerous or quite a blessing. He said there's not a middle ground with this Coyote. He also said spirit power is real and that while he had no idea why your Coyote was interested in the Captain, that from now on these spirits would be making sure he was wherever they needed him to be when they needed him there." The one eyed ex-pilot just shook his head. "It didn't sound like a very good deal to me."

"Why would the Spirits be interested in one of you?"

The question was just short of hostile. So were the eyes of the tall Colonel who had asked it. This was yet another of the Grayhawks by his looks and not as pragmatic an individual as the General. Yuri noted the mobile suit insignia on his collar and considered not answering him. This one had likely been at Second Jachin Due, and perhaps even as an escort for the nuke group. His one eye went very cold.

"He said he didn't know. That this Coyote didn't tell him."

"Your . . ." The Colonel began accusingly when the other crone interrupted him.

"Jamie, shut up! You want a fight, you wait until we're done! We need his help right now."

"I, . . . All right Gran." He glared at Yuri. "Later, you."

"What do you think, Maria?" First Kay asked.

"Well, they've beaten him half to death, the sternum's cracked, I'd say at least three ribs a side are as well and I can't determine how bad the rest of the internal damage may be."

"Your call, but we're running out of time if we're going to even try to get his heart and lungs going again."

"We don't have any choice in this. He's still here because Coyote wants him to be here. We have to try. You pump the heart once and I'll inflate the lungs."

"Let me know when you're ready."

"I will. Be very careful. Too much in that pump and the sternum will split."

"I know, I felt that crack myself."

The old crone called Maria tipped Adrian's head back and checked to make sure his airway was unobstructed. Yuri didn't want her to do this but there was no other means available and so he kept his mouth shut. She pinched Adrian's nostrils closed, sealed her mouth over his and waved her fingers.

First Kay came up and over the Captain's chest as Yuri slid his knees out from under Adrian and carefully lowered him until he was flat on the floor. He held his head steady as the old woman demonstrated an unexpected degree of skill at external heart stimulation. The instant she lifted her hands, the Maria crone exhaled in one long, steady breath into his still lungs.

Yuri felt the pulse First Kay's single pump sent through Adrian's body. For several seconds it was alone, then he felt another, one she had no hand in. His head came up and his eye opened wide as it would go. Long seconds passed, there was a third, more seconds, a fourth. The heart was coming back.

The lungs took longer. Maria had to repeat her inflation several times before there was any hint that they were going to try to work on their own. First Kay took over when the repetitions began to make the other old woman dizzy. On her fifth inflation, Adrian finally began to breathe on his own again.

By that time the heart was beating steadily if slowly. Also by that time, the rest of the family had done rough and ready first aid on the Blue Cosmos gang. They had also tied them up after nearly stripping them down in a very thorough weapons search. Someone had found a heavy piece of plywood and some plastic for a seal and had closed the hole where the broken windows had been. It was almost back to warm in here again. Others had cleaned up the shattered glass and straightened the furniture. Oh, and the law had arrived too.

When Yuri finally looked up, he found several members of the family scattered around the two rooms, each sitting across from a pair of official looking types, apparently describing the events as they had seen them. A lean Caucasian in a recognizable police style uniform was talking to the older man who had been so shocked to hear about Coyote earlier. He wore the famed six-point star in a circle that was supposed to be the traditional badge of the law in this area and he carried the equally famed gray Stetson hat. The Coordinator suddenly felt like he was caught up on someone's vid shoot set.

Another man came striding into sight. This one was built along the same kind of lines as a ZAFT GINN. And he looked just as competent too.

"Sheriff Rennie, Howard," He nodded to the two. "Well I've had a look around and I've been able to account for all the darts taken from my office. They fired nine of the twelve. Judging from what I found, six of the nine hit someone and three were clean misses. Whoever was hit, if they all hit the same person, got about two and a tenth doses injected into them. Given what we found when we got here, the likeliest victim is that Coordinator boy over there on the floor. I'll need to get a blood sample to run some tests to verify that though if you plan to use it in court."

The Sheriff nodded. "Doc Hughes is on his way over right now. He'll be able to get your sample. From what I've seen, they drugged him until he was helpless, then beat the living shit out of the kid. Truth is, I'm kinda surprised he's still alive. Or that he even lived long enough to get his fool self shot. Yeah, I know these Coordinators are hard to kill but even so, this one shouldn't have made it. Not with what was done to him."

"I gather he didn't even do anything to start the trouble." The powerfully build man said thoughtfully.

"Not according to Ada Rockbell. She said she saw the six of them pulled off in their trucks and had just identified them when a van drove up the road. It didn't stop or even pause and none of the occupants even seemed to notice the trucks. They must have though because they suddenly stepped on the gas. That's when Ada says the Blue Cosmos gang took off after them, whooping, hollering, and shooting at the tires."

The Sheriff shook his head in disgust. "I ask you, who shoots at tires any more? You can't deflate the things these days and they don't explode either. Talk about stupid. Anyway, Ada rode right back to the house and called me just as soon as they were out of sight."

"When are you getting that trash out of my house?" Howard asked grimly.

"I've got ambulances coming. There's not a one on them that can go back in a squad you know. Nope, we want any charges to stick we've got to make sure everything is done by the book and all rights due the accused are granted to them. When your 'rescue team' got around to business, it didn't mess around with leaving any walking wounded behind 'em."

"Just as well they didn't." Howard replied flatly.

Yuri looked over and noted Kayla was still in the chair her grandmother had exiled her to when this began. Maria had finally gotten around to telling him who she and First Kay were, which made taking orders from them much easier for him. It also made it possible for him to forgive her for slapping Kayla earlier as well. Voril was still standing guard too, in the odd kind of parade rest stance they'd been taught by the real Dreyfus operative back in Aube to use in times like these.

"White Jay, we'll need some last help here." First Kay said quietly. "We have to get these damaged ribs and that cracked sternum supported. So even though he's bruised and swelling, we have to tape the rib cage. Maria and I have rubbed in bruise ointment as best we can under the circumstances since we really can't put any real pressure on him in a spot as small as fingers working creams into the skin right now. We're going to sit him up. We need you to help hold him up, keep his arms away from his sides and don't let his head flop."

"We need more than just me then." Yuri replied. "I don't have enough hands."

"You have a shoulder, let his head rest there." Maria told him absently as she focused on smoothing yet more cream onto the Captain's right side. "Lift him now!"

Between the three of them, they got Adrian close to upright. Yuri ended up at a fairly awkward angle as he held both his friend's wrists collarbone high with his arms folded across his chest. At the same time, he had to keep his own body back far enough for the two women to pass the bandages between him and Adrian's back and support the Captain's head on his own shoulder.

They managed it all. Including coating all the back that was going under the bandages with yet more of the bruise cream. Yuri noted that the taping wasn't as tight as it could have been but it did look firm enough to provide support without causing dangerous restriction of his breathing if the beaten flesh did continue to try to swell under it.

When they laid him back down, Yuri was startled to find a low cot beside them now; a cot well padded with sheepskins. There were also three young Grayhawk boys standing by to help lift Adrian onto it. The four of them got him up in the air and Maria slid the cot under him. As they lowered him though, Yuri realized his head was going to be sticking off the end.

"All right, I've got him." First Kay told him. "You get out of there now."

"But . . ."

"He's got a cut on his head somewhere under that dirt, Jay." Maria said wearily. "We have to wash his hair and find it. Now move, all right?"

Yuri slid out of the way. For the first time since the car chase began however many hours ago, he was aware of how tired he was. Then there was a hand in front of him, a silent offer of help to get up off the floor. Yuri looked at the sleeve of the Earth Forces Navy uniform that came with that hand and decided it no longer mattered. He took the offered help and was nearly dragged to his feet. Considering how readily his knees wanted to give out under him just as soon as he was up, he was glad to have the help.

"You look about pegged into the ground. When did you eat last?"

Yuri looked over to find his helping hand still standing beside him. He was yet one more of the Grayhawks, late teens to early twenties at a guess, the uniform said Navy Lieutenant and the collar pin said mobile suits. But unlike the other, older officer, this one wasn't hostile.

"Food?" The EA pilot tried again.

"Breakfast, sometime around eleven, one pumpkin pie." Yuri finally managed to reply.

Bright sea-green eyes lit up with amusement. "You had a whole pumpkin pie for breakfast and nothing else?"

"Ah, yes."

"And the kid on guard duty? He have anything better to eat than you did?"

"No, that's what we all had." Yuri admitted.

"No wonder you're fading into the floorboards. One huge sugar high and nothing to back it up." He shook his head. "I'm Doug Grayhawk by the way. You guys got names you're willing to share?"

"Yuri Lubbek." He waved at himself, then pointed to the other two. "Voril Joule, Adrian Ito."

Doug nodded. "Thanks. Look, there's leftovers still in the fridge in the kitchen. Lets do a bit of raiding. You look like you really need some calories right about now and I doubt the other guy, Voril Joule did you say, would turn them down."

"Voril wouldn't turn down a chance to eat a dinner for thirty all by himself." Yuri said wearily.

The Navy pilot snickered and led the way back to the kitchen. He parked Yuri on a stool and gathered up some flat, cooked meat patties and a few sausages, found buns for them and some condiments for flavoring. He also found some rather limp looking things that might have been fried at one time and scavenged a generous pile of them too. He tossed the meats in one heater and the limp fried things in another.

"All right, the burgers and the brats will come out just fine. I don't know about the fries though. Haven't ever tried reheating those like this before. But we'll just put some butter and salt on 'em and they should be at least eatable. They're just over-greased potatoes after all. Now, where did Gran put that leftover cake?"

Minutes later, Yuri found himself following Doug back out to the main room with plates, cups, napkins and forks in his hands. Doug had all the food on a large tray, including a jug of some liquid that wasn't water and a large chunk of rather tasty looking cake of some kind. Voril saw them coming and produced several small folding tables from a corner, proving he'd been paying attention to his surroundings.

"What are you doing?" It was the suspicious older Colonel.

"Feeding the starving Jamie. They haven't eaten since breakfast and they did save your kids. Now butt out."

"Douglas, be civil to your brother. Jamie, Sheriff Rennie would like to speak to you now. Howard! Doc Davies is ready to go now, you want to cover any last items before he leaves? And did you get his official vet death certificate for both the horses?"

"Yes Mom." The brothers said in perfect synchronization, speaking to her back as the striking woman stalked away after her husband and the veterinarian who so resembled a GINN.

The food was good, even the odd, limp fries. And the cake was almost as good as pumpkin pie. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he found himself eyeing a third of the 'brat' things and thinking he still had space for it. He took a last drink of the home made 'root beer' and settled back.

They had moved the Captain to a bedroom now. The cut on his head hadn't been serious but like most head wounds it had bled like it was a major trauma. The local medical doctor had come and gone while they were eating as well. Apparently he was only there to take the blood sample the law required. It seemed no one questioned the doctoring skills of Maria or First Kay.

Nor did they try to suggest moving the Captain to any local hospital either. No one said it directly but it was understood that he was safer here, where there were no Blue Cosmos sympathizers around than he would be there where that couldn't be assured. Howard Grayhawk made it very plain that he was going to shelter the three Coordinators as long as they needed it. They had helped his family, he would help them. No one was silly enough to argue with him.

Yuri and Voril gave their statements to the local authorities. Both sides were very careful about what questions were asked and how they were answered. At no time was there even the slightest hint put forward that any of them might have any connections to the Plants other than Yuri's professional ones. The word ZAFT was never mentioned.

So here they were, guests in the Grayhawk house. Bowing to both Kayla's suggestion and his and Voril's concern, they were all sharing one very large room. Adrian had the real bed while they both had big cots set well to the side. There was a night light on in the room and there would be someone by the Captain's bedside all through the night, keeping watch for any trouble. By order of Maria, neither he nor Voril would be sharing that duty tonight. They were under orders to get some real sleep so they could be of some use again in the morning.

"Yuri."

"Yes?"

"How did we end up in this mess?"

"I'm not going to get into that can of worms tonight. We're supposed to go to sleep. We'll be up all night if we start on that one."

"You have a point."

He pulled the amazingly soft wool blanket up around his shoulders. It was made of pure Merino wool, their own wool. He made a mental note to discuss not only wool but these blankets with the Grayhawk patriarch in the morning. These would sell in the Plants quite nicely. Controlled environment or not, it wasn't always warm everywhere.

"Yuri."

"Go to sleep."

"I just want you to know, the Blue Cosmos nut aside, I like these people."

"Even Colonel Jamie?"

"Yes. He's only doing what so many of our people are, trying to keep his family and friends safe. I don't think he's ever met one of us off the battlefield before. We bother him when we don't behave like the propaganda says we should. I watched him with his wife and children. He's a good man. All he needs is a chance to find out how wrong his image is."

"Voril, have you ever heard of a story called Pollyanna?"

"No, why, is it important?"

"Look it up sometime. There are moments when it is the perfect description of you. How did you ever have a relative like Yzak and come out like this? Didn't he teach you any pragmatism at all?"

"Yzak doesn't want to like people and I do. He lives in fear of being somehow disgraced by someone, sometime, somehow for something he did or maybe didn't do. I could just kick Aunt Ezaria sometimes. She's made a real mess of him."

"Yes, and you pet rattlesnakes too."

"That was an accident!"

"Go to sleep!"

"It was an accident!"

"Fine, it was an accident, now go to sleep."

"And I still like the Grayhawks."

"Yes," Yuri agreed softly, talking only to the blanket lest he too, would have to admit to Pollyanna tendencies. "So do I."

* * *


	39. Author

04/02/06

To the readers of "Respect Between Enemies";

On March 21st, my brother passed away totally unexpectedly from a massive heart attack. He was six years younger than I. Needless to say, it was a huge shock. I've been out of state dealing with this for the better part of the last two weeks.

I have continued to write, having learned when I lost first my father and then my mother that it is excellent therapy. However, I also learned that what I produce during such times may not be fit to print either. So the story will be sitting for a bit longer until I am sure it isn't total dreck before I post any more chapters. Sorry for the delay. Hopefully, I will have something that belongs in the story up by the weekend of the 8th.

Yours,

The BetanWerecat


	40. Chapter 40

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

The story moves on and so do I. I would like to thank everyone who sent such kind notes. You were a real help to me. I can not begin to tell you how much it meant to have your support.

In a way, it is very ironic that this happened at just this point in the story. I ended up pulling a lot of detail out that was interesting in an anthropology way but which wasn't making the story move. I hope what is here still makes sense. It does matter for the future of the characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The one he was watching across the fire was dark by the standards of the Native peoples. His black eyes seemed to glow as well. He made Adrian uneasy. But then, this whole situation made the ZAFT Captain uneasy. He had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten here. Nor did he know how he'd gotten back into his own ZAFT uniform either. The last thing he remembered was falling, Kayla's eyes looking down at him in fear.

Now he was sitting beside a fire in a narrow canyon across from this very strange individual, an individual he was sure he'd met somewhere before although he couldn't for the life of him remember where or when. His host hadn't said a word to him so far. He had offered him water and what looked like it might have been some small animal now very well done and spitted on a stick. Adrian had found himself both thirsty and ravenous, so he'd accepted the offered water and food with polite thanks. The dark man had only smiled and continued to study him in a manner that made the Captain wonder what he'd done to deserve it.

He suddenly heard footsteps coming from his left, the up-canyon side. Adrian watched alertly as a powerfully built man, also unmistakably a Native, stepped softly into the light. He wore nothing but some kind of wide, heavily decorated leather strip that fell to his knees in both front and back and was held up at the waist by a sturdy leather band and equally heavily decorated soft leather footgear. A string of some kind of claws or maybe talons circled his neck, a pair of long, dark feathers with golden tips hung in his hair on either side of his face and a very functional looking spear was in his right hand. All this was disconcerting enough, but like the dark man who had been here from the start, this one's rather startlingly golden eyes also seemed to glow. And like that one, he was dead sure he'd known this man before too.

Something prodded him sharply, a memory that wouldn't quite surface perhaps; whatever the source, it was a clear warning that this individual was a great deal more than he seemed. Adrian shot a quick glance across at the first one, who had been here from the start, and realized that message applied to him too. So he followed the prompt; he stood and saluted first his original, silent companion and then the newcomer.

He got the feeling he had both pleased and somewhat amused them both. The newcomer strode quickly across the pebbled ground to stand at Adrian's right hand. Why did it feel right for him to be there? He could only grit his teeth in frustration when the answer to that question refused to come to mind. Still, when he didn't sit, neither did the Captain. Once more he got an impression of both pleasure and amusement.

The sound of more footsteps interrupted any thoughts he might have wanted to give to the situation however. These came from down-canyon this time. An ancient woman stepped heavily into the light. She was stooped with age but must have been exceptionally tall in her youth. She still had very broad shoulders, ice white hair, and small, warm brown eyes that he was no longer surprised to see glowing. She wore a beautifully decorated dress and a cloak of some kind of animal fur. She leaned on a very sturdy and deeply carved stick.

This time he was fairly sure he'd never met the lady before. Despite her age, Adrian was quite sure she was stronger than the warrior who stood beside him and could give the Dark One on the other side of the fire a run for his money as well. He wondered how he knew that. He promptly bowed to her, the full, formal gesture he would have used to Chairman Eileen Canaver. Again there came the impression of approval and amusement. She walked over to stand on his left hand.

After that, others like them came. A man who wore blue and white banded feathers in his two braids. Another man who had almond shaped eyes and a pair of small, bushy tails of some kind hanging from his braids. A woman with black feathers in her hair and keen black eyes joined the ancient lady in the fur cloak. Another man, this one with slate gray stripes painted over and under his eyes and banded brown feathers in his hair joined the two with the bushy tails and the blue and white feathers. A younger man with a necklace of animal fangs and disconcerting pale blue eyes joined the two ladies. Some of these people he was confident he'd met before, a couple he was equally sure he hadn't. Adrian saluted or bowed to each as they arrived, wondering madly what this was all about.

The last arrival though just about stopped his heart. He heard the whistle of wind through some restricted space approaching long before he could see anything. It came from the north, up-canyon, so he looked that way. When he didn't see anyone approaching, he let his eyes drift skyward.

Something bird shaped was coming. It took him a moment to realize just how big it had to be to be seen that clearly at such distance in the moonlight. As it got closer, he kept revising his size estimates upwards. It was almost directly over them when it suddenly did a wingover and dropped toward the ground. At just above the canyon rim, it righted itself, tossed its wings over its head and literally dropped into the canyon, landing behind the Dark One with a tremendous crash that nearly threw Adrian off his feet.

The Captain stared at it in shock. It was almost as tall as the canyon walls and filled a full half of the space in the canyon floor. It looked like an impossibly huge black eagle with the now familiar glowing eyes, white this time. But whenever it moved at all, streaks of what looked like lightening shot through its feathers and a sound like very distant thunder growled. Unlike any of the others, uncanny as they were, this one just about scared the living shit out of him. They at least gave a semblance of having a relationship to being human. There was no such suggestion with this thing! And some small part of him knew it was enjoying terrifying him too.

The knowledge angered him but that anger brought no extra strength with it, not against this monster. This was a test, he knew that too and it also irritated him. But like the other anger, the irritation did not help him gain any ground against the fear this thing was driving into the core of his being.

The others around him stood like statues, waiting to see what he would do. They offered neither encouragement nor discouragement; they were absolutely neutral at this moment. The impossible eagle-thing just stared down at him, giving him the impression it was considering how he might do for lunch.

There was a time limit on this, he suddenly realized as fear rose towards panic. That eagle would wait only so long before it decided he was snack food. The knowledge just about undid him. He had no idea what he was supposed to do to prevent it from eating him!

The fire popped, catching his panicky attention for a second. As his eyes swept across the bright line of sparks it had emitted, he noticed something new. There was a pile of small animals and a very sturdy looking stick with several branches at one end now sitting on the ground not far from the Dark One.

All right, there was something being provided that he could feed this huge bird besides himself. But to get to those animals and that stick, he was going to have to walk towards that thing. And he couldn't make himself move.

Adrian could feel his heart pounding and hear himself gasping for air as sheer terror made breathing almost impossible. How the hell was he supposed to move TOWARD that monster? He could hardly keep his feet right now as it was he was shaking so hard!

Huge emerald eyes suddenly filled his mind, eyes that recognized him, were overjoyed to see him, and then held nothing but horror as they realized he was falling away from them. Kayla, those were Kayla's eyes! She was pregnant with their children! If he died here, who would take care of her? Who would protect her from the bigots that existed in the Plants and who were just as vicious in their way as any Blue Cosmos fanatic hunting Coordinators? His Grandfather? Bad joke. His mother? Not enough power.

Time stopped as Adrian realized there was no one else. He had no choice; he could not die here. He forced his head up and his hand up to salute the great bird. And, one unsteady step at a time, he slowly marched over to the pile of carcasses and the stick.

He managed to wedge a large rabbit onto the stick. He stood, holding the stick as high over his head as he could, and waited for the bird to decide what it was going to eat. Oddly, as soon as he got the stick up in the air, he steadied. He was still soul-deep frightened, but he was no longer shaking.

Something hit the stick with force enough to knock him over. He stared up to see the great bird tossing the rabbit into the air. It caught it in one swift strike, the beak closing with a crack that nearly deafened him. Then it was looking down at him impatiently.

Adrian scrambled to the pile and grabbed the first carcass that came to hand. He jammed it onto the stick and lifted it as high as he could as he started to get up. He never made it off his knees.

The strike smashed him to the ground this time. He didn't bother to watch the bird eat whatever it was he'd fed it. He rolled back to his knees, caught up a new carcass, and put this one on the stick.

This time he didn't try to stand. He just thrust the stick into the air and held on tightly. Again he was slammed to the canyon floor. And again he rolled up and snatched the next carcass that came to hand to feed to the eagle. In the back of his mind was an awareness of the uncanny watchers, and that they were very pleased with him. Somehow, at that moment, it really didn't matter to him.

He fed the eagle time and time again. Each time he was knocked down, it hurt a bit more to get up. Captain Ito forced himself to ignore it as his chest began to hurt so badly he could hardly breath, as his entire abdomen became a sea of pain that made any movement agony, as both legs and knees came to such levels of pain he could only be sure they were doing what he demanded of them by watching them move. His arms were made of molten lead and his hands were almost unable to grip anything by the time he reached the last of the pile.

But he was no longer afraid of the bird. His body and mind had no room left for fear. What attention he could spare from the pain was completely tied up in making his body go through the moves it had to make to get a carcass on the stick and the stick in the air.

Adrian fumbled the last carcass onto the stick and tried to lift it. This time his body refused to obey him. He collapsed on the canyon floor, sharp stones digging into his back, legs splayed, the stick flopped across his chest making it so hard to breathe that he barely noticed the massive beak reach down and delicately pluck the last treat off of it. There was nothing left in his universe but pain.

At some point, the pain faded into the background of his awareness. Voices spoke and he listened. When what they told him confused him, he asked for explanations. Sometimes he understood the answers, too many times he did not. But he did understand one thing; he was being given access to knowledge very few of his people would ever have. It was a privilege, one he hadn't really earned by any merit but by love and acceptance. This was the wisdom of Kayla's people.

Eventually the voices stopped speaking and he slept. When he woke, Adrian discovered he was still lying on the canyon floor but there were no longer any rocks trying to poke holes through him. He was breathing easily now and his heartbeat felt normal. It was not that nothing hurt, everything still did, but it was something distant now. He knew it would be a fool's move to try to stand so he just lay where he'd awaken to see what would happen.

When nothing did for several minutes, he tried to look around. The canyon was just as it had been before. However, all those who had been there were now gone, including the Dark One and the huge bird. The fire was out as well. Indeed, there was no sign it had ever burned there at all.

He looked the other way and found someone standing there. Adrian would never be able to give any description of that One. Nor could he assign a gender. He used the masculine whenever he later told the story just for convenience and because it fit general convention.

"Soaring Hawk Woman chose well." his visitor informed him. "Now it is time for you to go back to your own place. You are not yet ready to come to the Spirit World to stay. Go now, Eagle's Heart, and take the wisdom of the Spirits who have taught you while you were here with you."

"Who?" Adrian managed to ask.

The other smiled. "Not yet. Someday you will know that answer but not now."

Irritated, Adrian opened his mouth to demand an answer when the universe became an ocean of light. He stared around at it. But there was nothing to see, just light everywhere.

Suddenly some of the light seemed to gather into the rim of a tunnel, the interior dimmer for having given much of itself to the rim. He stared it in curiosity. The tunnel moved toward him. That was interesting! He wondered how it did it.

Then the tunnel was moving over him, taking him into itself. His eyes immediately felt relief, as though the level of the light had somehow been too intense even though he hadn't noticed it before. He glanced behind to see the brilliant circle of the light shrinking rapidly to a tiny dot. He looked ahead to see the tunnel expanding but growing no lighter or darker.

He checked behind himself again. The dot of light was gone now. He looked ahead again and realized that he was seeing areas of lighter and darker spaces. They puzzled him. They were familiar somehow. He knew he should be able to recognize these.

The light and darker patches became more sharply focused. Then they began to acquire new shades. Colors, he realized, these new shades were colors. He wondered vaguely how he knew that.

The color patches stuck together in patterns. Sometimes the patterns moved a bit. Occasionally they changed completely. But they were very well organized.

Adrian became aware that the tunnel had vanished at some point. His sight was now restricted by some physical object. Every so often, it would briefly go completely dark. He noticed that each time it came back, the color patches seemed to have cleaner edges.

One of the color patterns, a dull one, underwent one of the periodic changes. A brighter patch flashed above it, streaked with dark speckled lines. This time, he registered a sound accompanying that change.

He should know that sound. And he should know the other small sounds he was abruptly aware of hearing now. His sight went dark once more, then flipped back to the color patterns. This time, however, it was very different. This time, he recognized what he was seeing!

Yuri, Yuri Lubbek was sitting there! He was reading something. It was the page of a paper book he'd heard turning. And the physical objects limiting his sight were his own eyelids!

Adrian heard a door open nearby. Voril Joule stepped into his limited line of sight, accompanied by a very handsome old woman who strongly reminded him of Kayla. Voril looked worried and the old lady serene.

"Yuri?" Joule asked, anxiety clear in his voice.

"No change yet." Yuri replied wearily. "It's been ten days, Gran Spotted Horse. When will the Captain wake up?"

"What, you deaf youngling? How many times do I have to tell you boys he'll come round when he's good and ready and not before then? You should be happy he's been unconscious all this time. Think of the pain he'd have been in if he'd been awake! As it is, if he woke up right now he'd still be in a world of hurt. It just wouldn't be the agony it would have been a few days ago. Getting shot four times in the chest is no joke boys. That Lugar may be an antique but it still packs a solid punch. You Coordinators heal up real fast but even so, he's still got ribs that aren't solid and that crack in the sternum is very soft yet too. He's got bruises on his lungs and most internal organs that are still clearing. There are bruises in the deep muscle tissues of his body that haven't finished healing either. No, Captain Ito is not in good shape and won't be for at least another week. Let him sleep if he wants to. He still needs it."

"His eyes are partly open again." Voril noted, staring intently into Adrian's eyes.

The Captain wanted to tell him he could hear him, could see him, could see them all in fact and just how happy he was to be doing it. But he couldn't make a sound himself. He tried, repeatedly and with everything he had, but nothing came out. The effort exhausted him very quickly; his vision fell back to colored patches instead of crisp images although he did not immediately lose his hearing.

A set of color patterns that matched the old woman suddenly loomed very large in his limited sight. "Yes, they are, but you see here, they still aren't focused. He's semi-conscious at best. Let's see if we can get the medicines in him while he's still in this state. It'll be so much easier on us all if he can actually drink them this time."

"Right!" Yuri's voice agreed instantly.

He was aware of being moved although he could not have said where or how. Logic told him he was being lifted into a position that would make taking liquids safe although he had no way to be sure. But he could feel a change in pressure on his back and his head that was consistent with that idea.

He felt a touch on his face and somehow responded to it. Then there was liquid pouring gently into his mouth. Until that instant, Adrian hadn't known he was thirsty. But the first touch of fluids triggered a startlingly intense response and he greedily accepted all they would give him. He didn't even realize it didn't taste very good until it stopped coming.

"Get me that second one, will you Fox?"

"Yes Ma'am."

There was another touch on his face and he opened his mouth again. So what if it was bitter? It was liquid and he craved it enough to ignore the taste.

Like the first one, this was tipped into his mouth in carefully controlled sips. He drank eagerly, realizing this one tasted much better than the last one had. There wasn't as much of it though and he was far from satisfied when the cup was taken away.

"I think he'll take more. Give me that broth please."

This had a slightly salty, meat flavor that was very good and reached something inside that really needed it. He drank until he felt like he was going to explode. Only then did he reluctantly refuse more. He still craved the flavors; he just didn't have the space for it.

"Almost two cups, very good." The old woman's voice said with satisfaction. "He's doing better than I thought he was. If he's willing to take in that much, the stomach has pretty much recovered from that beating. If it has, the rest of the internal organs are probably further along than I thought as well. He may come to sooner than I dared hope."

"When is sooner?" Voril's voice demanded anxiously.

"I've no idea." The old woman replied candidly. "But I think the watches should go to two hours now so no one is getting too tired and missing anything. We want to catch him as soon as he regains full consciousness if we can so we can evaluate how he's doing. We don't know how much he's going to even remember. Larry and his goons avoided his face in their beating but they did crack him in the head a few times."

A beating? Someone had beaten him? Pretty damn severely too if he'd been out ten days. He tried to think back, to remember.

He knew he was a Captain in the ZAFT. He knew the ZAFT was the military defense of the Plants. He was a Coordinator. There had been a war with the Naturals of Earth. It was over now. No one had really won, he was sure of that. And he'd come to Earth to find and bring home the girl he loved and wanted to marry, Kayla Grayhawk. She was a Natural and she was pregnant with their children. So far, so good. But he was drawing a blank on the beating business.

Adrian let his eyes close and he stopped listening to whatever was going on around him as he concentrated fiercely on trying to remember. It was important, his relationship with Kayla was tied up in it, he just knew it was! He'd come to Earth, what had happened after he'd come down here?

He fell into the darkness, searching for the answers. He found himself seated by a fire inside what looked to be a tent made of animal skins instead. A meter and a half tall Golden Eagle waited patiently on his right hand. An ancient Bear, bowed by time but probably still over three meters tall waited with equal patience on his left. He was back in his own red uniform again.

"You will remember when it is time for you to do so." The Bear told him kindly. "Until then, you have much to learn and your time here grows short. All too soon now, you will return to the waking world to stay and our time of instruction will be over. Come and pay heed for this time we have. You must be able to guide your children, Eagle's Heart, or they will not be able to become all they should be."

"I must guide?" Adrian asked in confusion. "Aren't you the Spirits of Kayla's people? Wouldn't she be the more appropriate one to be doing this?"

"She is also learning." Golden Eagle told him calmly. "It will require both of you to raise your sons and daughters to the right path. I told you to study the ways of the Spirit. So be still and learn."

"Eagle," the Bear said reprovingly. "He is not of the People. Do not criticize him as though he were one who had refused the Way. He never had the chance to learn it at all!"

"Grandmother of Bears, he is stubborn and argumentative. He will walk away if he is not directed firmly." Golden Eagle told her irritably.

The great Bear looked over at Adrian gently and he stared back in something very like awe. They were real, he decided. He hadn't wanted to believe that, he really hadn't. He grew up with science and the concept that you believed what you could prove. You could never prove the existence of these Spirits using any tool of science. That was why religion was so thoroughly rejected in the Plants. He'd grown up with that hammered into his head: religion was a rigidly structured set of largely arbitrary rules and a facade for social control that was based on wishful thinking about something completely unprovable. And for all he knew, it was.

But the issue of spirituality was something else. Because he knew for himself that science had no answers for some pretty fundamental questions. It could explain how he had come to be but it could offer no reason why. It could do a fine job of defining the beginning and likely ending of the existing universe. It could not tell him where it had come from or where it would go to. It could describe the mind and the formation and structure of personality but it could not explain or define that elusive thing called a 'soul'. Those questions and all others like them were the provenance of spirituality and a place where science, by its very nature, could find no foothold. No wonder his people were so uncomfortable with the whole irrational idea!

"No Eagle, he will not walk away." Grandmother of Bears replied softly. "Not now and never again. He has finally come to understand what he and his people have left out of their lives. Now, he will willingly learn."

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	41. Chapter 41

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well, I'm back. I never expected to go this long between updates. But my mind shut down on me. All my characters quit talking to me. One can think of it as mega-writer's block. I know what happened, I've been through this twice before with my parents passing. It's a form of depression. I'm not sure what I have here is as good as it should be but I have decided it finally is good enough to put up, that it does carry the story forward where it needs to go. I hope this is not going to be typical of my chapter spacing for the next while. A month plus between them seems way too long to me. But I won't make any promises only to find I haven't really broken the block all the way down yet.

And yes, I will get back to the main action soon. That I do promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

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"Do I gotta Dad? They're _little_ kids! They aren't gonna be any fun to play with."

"We can always go back to your Grandmother's house if you'd rather. I know she doesn't have any pastel feather bushes in her garden or any painted fairy butterflies but if putting up with the youngsters will be too much for you . . . . . ."

"NO! I mean, ah, yeah, I can put up with the kids."

Lance Thoms kept his face straight and his eyes on the road as his son fumed in the seat beside him. He'd grown so in these last few months of the war when it had been impossible to get home much at all that neither of them really knew the other any more. This trip was as much to let them become reacquainted as it was to help the Daws. Lance glanced down. The boy was so tall now! He had his mother's rich brown hair shot with copper bright enough for polished coins but he had his own amethyst eyes. He had Joni's even temper too, a characteristic his grandmother liked to brag about. Perhaps that was what had been behind Serin's invitation.

For inviting Jiro had most definitely been Serin Ito's idea. She wanted to gradually expose the Daws children to other Coordinator children in a controlled setting. She had the staff bringing their children who were fairly close in age over already. The Ito Project was most definitely not an orientation facility for those immigrating to the Plants. But Serin liked Lynn and the children so the decision had been made to hold the Daws there while she helped them adjust.

And they needed that help, badly. Both Howie and Sarah had an unfortunate tendency to revert to their father's language when they were frightened, tired, or stressed. Calling someone a 'space monster' in the Plants was just about the perfect way to get yourself beaten to a pulp if you were a kid. Terms like 'gene freak' and 'lab rat' were no better. Nor was implying that some god hated you for being artificially assembled by your fellow humans instead of by random chance in the game known as 'natural selection'.

Jiro was just five; a perfect age as far as Serin was concerned. The Daws twins were not quite four. That year's gap looked huge to his son but to the psychologist it was just about right for a big brother figure. They needed a mentor who was close to them in age and level of understanding but who knew the Plants and who could tolerate their outbursts. That last had proven to be the real deal-breaker. So far none of the staff children had worked out in the role. Lance wasn't sure he should have listened when Serin had turned to him but he had. Now he was headed for the Project with his son, the main garden and its fantastic array of plants and insects the bribe he was offering the boy to put up with the younger kids, and to see if he just might make friends with them. That he wanted to be their mother's friend wasn't a reason he was fully admitting to himself yet.

"Dad."

"Yes?"

"Do they _really_ go around calling people _space monsters_?"

"I'm afraid they do Jiro. It isn't really their fault, they've been badly taught by their father, but yes, they use a lot of very bad words. Dr. Ito is trying to find people to help them learn the truth about the Plants and about Coordinators. They didn't even know they were Coordinators themselves until a couple of months ago! They thought they were Naturals and they believed what their dad told them about us." Lance shook his head slowly, wanting his son to understand why he wanted him to help these angry foreign kids.

"It's been a real hard thing for them. They've had to leave their home. They've lost their father; he turned against them when he learned they weren't Naturals. They are up in space where they were always told it was so dangerous and surrounded by Coordinators who they grew up being told were terrible space monsters. I'm not surprised they get defensive and say nasty things. Think how scared they must be."

Jiro sat thoughtfully, kicking the air in front of him. It was a habit of his when he was really concentrating on something. He reminded Lance of his mother when he was like this. She'd had the same kind of way of concentrating on a subject until she was satisfied with her own thoughts on it. It was rather reassuring to see her son do the same thing now.

He stayed focused for the remainder of the trip. He didn't even come out of his resolute internal study to exclaim over any of the mobile suits they passed on the way in to the Ito Project's site. Lance began to hope the boy wasn't coming to any conclusions that would wreck things here. Because when Jiro emerged from one of _these_ 'think things over' his mind was made up for good on the issue.

Thoms had to tap his son on the shoulder twice to get his attention after he parked the car. But to his father's relief, the boy looked up with clear eyes and a smile. So he was ready to be disturbed from his consideration of their earlier talk and there wouldn't be any of the temper tantrums or sulks typical of interrupting him too soon.

They checked in at the reception desk, Jiro much more focused on the display of flowering plants and bushes in their neat beds than the lady who was trying to get his handprint, and started for the garden door. Lance had to reassure him a half dozen times that he would find the same thing out in the garden only bigger to get through the main hall. If this interest in botany kept up he knew what his son would be doing for a living in a few years. As things stood now, prying him away from an exotic plant required something just short of physical force.

As he opened the door to the garden however, Lance knew it was not going to go well. He was a father, he could tell the difference between the shrieks of children playing and the screams of kids fighting. What he was hearing were most definitely the latter. Then too, there were adults converging on one spot from several points around. So whatever had gone wrong had just started.

"Somebody musta really said something bad." Jiro announced with the solemn judgment of a child who knows he's on the edge of big trouble that he's not going to be blamed for.

"Yes, it does look like it, doesn't it? Shall we go over and find out?"

"Sure!"

Thoms found himself forced to suppress a grin at the enthusiasm. As long as they weren't being held responsible, kids _always_ wanted to check out any trouble. And for a wonder, the prospect was enough to hold his son's attention off the garden around him long enough for them to reach the center of the action.

As the two of them came around the last of the feather bush hedge, they could see everything laid out in front of them like a picture. Serin had Lynn and her kids on the right with a couple of others. There was a stocky boy, a woman who had to be his mother, and perhaps four other parents and children on the left. The boy and Howie were facing off. Since both were looking somewhat worse for the wear and being held back by their respective mothers, it was pretty clear this shouting match had been a fight a few moments ago.

He could see Roland Ito coming toward the scene at a fast walk on the path directly across from the one he was on. All the big guns were here then. He wondered what the kids had done. It didn't take long to find out.

"Monster! Monster! Monster! Monster! Monster!" Howie screamed repetitively.

"Scum! Natural Scum! Chairman Zala was right!" The other howled, completely incorrectly, back.

"Ugly monster!" Howie tossed in for variety. "You lie! You lie!"

"Do not!"

"Do! Dododododododododo!"

"Naturals are scum and we should kill them all!"

Lance jerked up, anger shooting through him. What the hell? Who let a kid in here who thought that way?

"I thought you said it was the Howie kid who said bad things." Jiro whispered, a bit shocked.

"He does." Lance replied. "But he's pretty clearly not the only potty mouth here."

Howie was screaming in wordless rage now. The other boy was yelling some amazingly vicious things about killing all the Naturals. From the look on her face, he wasn't getting this from his horrified mother. Lance wondered who was saying things like this where the kid could hear them. Serin was ordering both boys to be quiet to no effect. Lynn and the other kid's mother were trying to shut them down as well but weren't winning the battle.

"The only good Natural is a dead one!" The boy mocked Howie's helpless fury despite his mother's efforts to get a hand over his mouth.

Lance Thoms was very, very pissed. This had the look and feel of a setup. Someone had seen to it that a kid got into the group who would set little Howie off like nothing else could. Someone really, seriously, didn't want this small family to find a place in the Plants.

Therefore, this had to stop! And it had to stop _now_! But at the same time, he couldn't afford to be seen to really take sides here either. He was going to have to clip both combatants as close to equally as he could. But it wouldn't hurt either side if he nailed the local kid first. He _was_ the one who was supposed to know better after all.

"THAT WILL BE ALL FROM YOU BOY!" Commander Thoms shouted at the top of his lungs, and waited for silence, glaring from one fighter to the other.

He got it instantly. Everyone turned and stared at him. Apparently no one had noticed his approach, not a surprise given the show the kids had been putting on.

"I will remind you," Lance told the stunned youngster as he focused on the local boy with a voice that could have frozen space itself, "that our allies from Oceania and the African Union are _Naturals_. I served along side some of those people. They were as brave and as fine a group of soldiers as any we put in the field. I have even met a few outstanding individual officers and troopers from the EA as well. And I've known a few of our own I would gladly have shot! Never, you little fool, _never_ judge anyone by their genetics! You judge them by what they do!"

"Besides which, ignorant donkey, we're dead without them." Roland Ito announced bluntly. "Don't make any idiot plans to kill off the gene pool we need to survive just yet. That Zala you like so much almost made us extinct! You might want to be a tad more careful who you hero worship."

Double teamed by an angry ZAFT Commander and his mother's boss, the boy went from screaming aggression to shivering tears in seconds. Lance felt sorry for the kid in a way. At the same time, he hoped the lesson took. He glanced at the others who were standing on the unfortunate boy's side. He saw much the same shock there too. He could only hope the lesson sank in to these kids as well. The peace, so dearly bought and not yet finalized, wouldn't last unless it did. At least whoever had tried to so bitterly influence these children wasn't going to have things go his way today.

"Did you really Commander?" A lean man standing beside a small girl asked cynically.

"Did I really what?" Lance asked coldly, in no mood to put up with any arguments from any parent here.

"Know anyone outstanding from the EA. I really find that almost impossible to believe."

Lance stopped, studied the man briefly, and decided the question had been asked honestly; so he nodded thoughtfully instead of angrily. "I can understand that. But yes, I did meet a handful of individuals. The Hawk of Endymion, the Captain of the _Archangel_, the pilot of the Freedom, they all wore the EA's uniform. They were also people of integrity, great courage, and high honor. I have known many of ours who could stand with them, but none who were really better."

The questioner looked a bit shocked. But then, how many ZAFT Commanders would admit to knowing those three? Not many, Lance knew. And fewer would openly acknowledge that they were as good – as human beings – as anyone from the Plants. But he had a lesson he was trying to teach here and it wouldn't hurt the adults to learn it either.

Thoms looked down at the boy he'd shouted at earlier and spoke much more calmly if no less firmly. "You see, it isn't your genetics that matter. It's what you do. Muruta Azriel, leader of Blue Cosmos, and Lt. Commander Mu La Flaga, the Hawk of Endymion, were both Naturals. Yet one was a hate-filled killer and the other an honorable and courageous soldier. Chairman Zala and his son are Coordinators of course. Yet he was driven to a kind of murderous insanity by the loss of his wife, and his son Athrun to a desperate form of heroism by the loss of his mother. Again, the difference is in what you do, not how you are made."

"I hope you were listening Howie." Lance turned to the other boy. "This applies to you too. You have to stop calling people angry names. They're hurtful and they aren't true. You need to start judging people by what they do as well. After all, it wasn't Coordinators who drove you off Earth."

The child's topaz eyes wavered. The defiance crumbled and what could only be called homesickness suddenly took over. Howie abruptly sat down on the neatly trimmed grass, collapsing as if his legs wouldn't hold him any longer. Watching him, Lance rather thought they wouldn't. Lynn knelt behind him, her hand resting lightly on his head, eyes as homesick as her son's.

"I wanna go home!" Howie wailed. "Nothin's right here! I jus' wanna go home!"

"All right everyone." Roland said quietly, motioning to the watching staff the excitement had drawn in and the parents with their still nervous children. "How about we just go inside and have some ice cream eh? We've all had too much of the wrong kind of excitement, something soothing and tasty would be good for all of you right now."

The old man chivied the crowd away, talking directly and very soberly with the youngster who had been fighting with Howie as they went, leaving Serin and Lance with the three Daws. He looked at the other Dr. Ito questioningly. She shrugged unhappily. One more failure then. He sighed and looked down at the crying boy; he had no idea how to help him.

But someone else did. Suddenly, Jiro was beside Howie, arms wrapped around his shoulders. "You don't really want to go back down to Earth! It's dangerous there! Besides, it's nice here in the Plants. There's lots of things to do. Every Plant is different and has different neat stuff to do. And the war's over. So you can go back for visits to Earth sometimes if you really, really hafta."

"What can you do in a Plant?" Howie demanded ungraciously. "They're little fake bottles that pretend to be like the Erf!"

Jiro gave him a very strange look. "Did your Daddy tell you that?"

"Yeah, why?" Howie asked warily.

"Cause he doesn't know anything about Plants or Coordinators! He wouldn't say dumb things like that if he did. Plants are really, really big for one thing. And everything in them is real! We got a big lake in every Plant. It's to help keep the humidity balanced. But it also gives everyone a place to go to fish or swim or sail a boat too. And there's woods to hike in on every Plant too, even the industrial Plants have some area set aside for green space to keep the air clean. And there's parks and play areas and all sorts of things. And gardens, lots and lots of great gardens!" Jiro waved his hands wildly as he tried to indicate everything a Plant had to offer.

"Are there any sheep here?" Sarah crept up beside her brother and stared at this new boy who didn't seem to be afraid of him like most of the other kids were.

"Ah, I don't know. What's a sheep?" Jiro asked, caught by surprise by the unexpected question.

"I can try to find out if you can tell me what it is." He added, willing to be helpful if not entirely sure just how to do it.

"They're animals silly! They have wool. They're really mostly friendly, well except the rams, rams are mean. But the ewes and wethers are nice! They come in lots of colors and baby lambs are cute!" Sarah giggled.

"Grandpa has lots and lots of sheep." Howie sniffed. "He's got horses and chickens and dogs and llamas and goats and Grandma was trying to talk him into getting a pig!"

"What's a pig?" Jiro asked, fastening on the last on the list. "Why would your Grandma want one?"

"It's another kind of animal." Howie told him. "They get round and fat and they kinda stink. But they're good to eat. That's why Grandma wants some. She doesn't like how they fix meat in the stores so she wants to raise it all at the ranch. Grandpa doesn't want any pigs. He says he doesn't need any critter on the place that's smarter than he is at five in the morning. He says they don't raise their own beef and Grandma hasn't been after him to get any cattle. So he doesn't see why she's so all fired set on a pig."

"Pigs aren't nice." Sarah said solemnly, shaking her head firmly. "They're very mean. They even kill people sometimes. I think Grandma should just buy pork from the Kluge's and not get any pigs."

Jiro stared up at him and Lance just shrugged. "Yes, they raise animals for food down on Earth. You have to remember son, they have the room to spare for it. A Plant is a very large structure but it is tiny compared to the planet itself."

"Dad, did you ever eat an animal?" Jiro asked faintly, looking quite distressed.

He knelt down by the children. "Yes, I have. The mess hall at Carpentaria bought food on the local market. Almost all of the available protein was in the form of meat from animals. I have to admit, it took some getting used to; we're trained not to think of animals as a food source here in the Plants because we simply can't support a real animal agriculture big enough to feed us. But once I did, it was pretty good."

"Do they eat these sheep animals too?" The thought of eating something that was described as 'friendly' plainly horrified his son.

"Yes, sometimes." Lance did not lie to Jiro and he wasn't going to start now. "But sheep produce wool too and many sheep are kept for that instead of being future dinners."

"Oh." Jiro latched onto that with relief. "We had a section on natural fibers and how they're used this last year. I forgot they said wool came from sheep."

"Aunt Alys promised to teach me how to spin when I get old enough!" Sarah announced proudly.

"What's that?" Jiro was getting very lost in this conversation.

"Spinning is how you make wool into yarn so you can knit it into sweaters."

Lance managed not to laugh. His son obviously got no information from that answer. Truth was, he hadn't gotten much either. But at least he'd heard of the craft before even if he had no idea how it was done.

"Momma! I wanna go home! I wanna go to Grandpa's! He can make Daddy be good! Everything's wrong here! The day's wrong, the light's wrong, the food's funny and I don't even weigh the same! Everybody is a Coordinator! There aren't any _normal_ people here!" Howie cried, tears rolling down his face.

"Howie! Everyone here is perfectly normal!" Lynn admonished firmly.

He shook his head stubbornly. "Are not! They're Coordinators!"

"Coordinators _are_ normal in the Plants, silly." Jiro told him determinedly. "Here it's Naturals who aren't normal! Besides, Daddy said you're a Coordinator too. So you belong here."

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Howie, we do belong here." Lynn hugged both her children. "I brought you up here _because_ we belong here. I know you miss everything back on Earth but we are all Coordinators and Coordinators aren't welcome many places there. But we are welcome everyplace here."

"Don't care!" He cried. "I wanna go back to Grandma an' the Dobba Hawk!"

Lance Thoms froze. Had this child just said he wanted to go home to the Double Hawk? To Grandma and Grandpa at the Double Hawk? He could feel his jaw dropping. He suddenly knew just who the 'Daws' had to be. How ironic! He was trying to help the wife and children of the man who'd tried to kill his Second!

"What's a Dobba Hawk?" Jiro asked, trying to keep up with everything.

"It's a sheep ranch in Colorado." His father replied very slowly. "The proper pronunciation is Double Hawk."

He heard Serin gasp. So she'd not understood what the boy was saying. Well she knew just who she was helping now.

Lynn, no _Rebecca_, stared at him in startled surprise. "How did you know that?"

Jiro looked up, shocked. "Hey! Isn't that where Captain Ito and Lieutenant Lubbek and Lieutenant Joule went to bring back the Captain's lady?"

"That's right." Lance nodded, as his eyes met Rebecca's stunned gaze. "That's were they went."

Howie's eyes were enormous. "There's ZAFTs at Grandma and Grandpa's? What're ZAFTs doing there?"

Lance Thoms cocked his head at the suddenly angry boy and smiled slightly. "Well Larry, it's like this; my Captain wants to marry your aunt."

"Which aunt?" The boy demanded to know, not noticing that he'd just been called by his rightful name. "I only got four of 'em you know!"

"Kayla, Adrian wants to marry your aunt Kayla." Commander Thoms told him.

The child stared at him. "That's crazy! Aunt Kayla is a Erf Force officer! Why would _she_ marry a _ZAFT_?"

Lance just stared at the butterflies dancing among the bushes for a few moments before he finally simply shrugged and replied. "I think they call it 'love'."

"Ohhhhhh, germs!" Both children sat back, fairly revolted looks on their faces. Jiro's expression wasn't any better. 'Love' suggested something mushy that involved a lot of sloppy kissing and other stuff they'd rather avoid at this age. Although he had to admit this was the first time he'd ever heard it associated with germs! What did they teach kids in Natural schools?

"Somehow, I doubt my son or your aunt would appreciate it if you go around telling everyone that they're spreading germs, all right?" Serin Ito asked, one eyebrow arched very high indeed.

"But, he'll give Aunt Kayla boy-germs!" Shiloh cried.

Her brother stared at her, then waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, and she's gonna stick him with girl-germs! Aunt Kayla's real strong! She can beat anybody's germs! _He's_ only a ZAFT. He's gonna be the one in trouble!"

Only a ZAFT? Adrian Ito? _Girl-germs_? Lance Thoms found himself meeting their mother's now-dancing sapphire eyes and then the two of them were suddenly laughing uncontrollably.

Jiro, hopelessly lost, could only stare back and fourth between his father and the Earth lady in complete confusion. Sheep, pigs, spinning, those were strange enough. But he knew his science class had never mentioned that germs had _genders_! Earth was even weirder than he'd ever thought!

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	42. Chapter 42

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

We go on. This story has an interesting tendency to expand on me when I'm not looking. I wasn't expecting to have any dealings with the Serpent's Tail at all. I'm kinda curious to see just where my characters are going with this now. Yes, I am writing again. Well, inbetween work and paying bills that is. I currently hope to be back to the average of a chapter a week or better from now on. I'm still not making that a promise though.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

First Kay sat in the rocker and watched as her namesake napped quietly in the wide seat of the massive chair, a sleeping Adrian Ito tucked firmly into the bed beside her. He'd finally come to after ten days of near-coma four days ago, on the girl's watch. They'd spent the first fifteen minutes kissing and crying, when she was supposed to be letting Maria know he was awake. They would probably have wasted that entire first hour he was conscious if the young Fox hadn't walked in, taken one look, and gone racing off to fetch Maria.

Over these last four days, Adrian had given everyone a good demonstration of the differences between Coordinator and Natural when it came to recovery. He was sitting up on his own the second time he woke up and was capable of getting himself to and from the bath by the second day. He'd needed a cane for stability yesterday but it was only a precautionary measure today. He'd even managed a few stairs this afternoon when Maria had talked him into going out onto the back porch for some fresh air.

He still had healing bones of course. It would be another few days before the last of those were really securely solid again. But the internal bruising that she'd been so worried about was almost completely gone. What was left was no threat to his health. He tired very quickly and had a tendency to fall asleep whenever he sat for any length of time but those were about the only symptoms left from what had been a near-death situation.

Except, he'd lost some time. He couldn't remember anything that had happened after he'd torn the knee until he woke up in the bed in the main guest room. Maria thought he might never remember it. First Kay herself wasn't so sure.

She looked over at the other two cots and the exhausted boys sleeping there. Howard was taking full advantage of having everyone at home. He was putting the entire flock through the fall weighing, shots and hoof trimming. It was a couple months late but this was when he had the hands for it so this was when it was happening. The two Coordinator boys had offered to help. Poor young fools had no idea what they'd let themselves in for.

The Double Hawk had seventeen _thousand_ sheep. Each animal had to be weighed, health checked, given its annual shots, and have its feet checked and trimmed as needed. With no training in animal husbandry at all, the Coordinator kids ended up in the one place their superior speed and strength could make a difference without having to have much specific training. They got to work the corrals, making sure the sheep moved steadily through the handling chutes. It was hot, heavy, dusty work even in the cool of early December. They spent a lot of time up on the bars of the chutes, lifting and turning some stubborn animal that had decided it was NOT going forward thank-you-so-very-much!

Working with the ewes and the wethers had been difficult enough. Merinos were not small sheep and they could be as stubborn about things as any mule. But today had been the last of the flock, today they'd done the rams. Dealing with a two hundred and thirty pound ewe or wether had had its challenges. Mastering a nearly three hundred pound ram with a full set of horns he had no hesitation about using on whatever part of you he could hit took it to a brand new level. First Kay wasn't surprised that the boys had come in, hit the showers, and then hit the sack after that.

She heard quiet footsteps coming up the hallway. The long but soft tread told her who to expect. She smiled a bit grimly as her son stepped gently into the room. People had a real serious tendency to underestimate her Howard. He was a lot sharper and a lot more capable than he liked others to know. And he'd been assessing these three Coordinator boys for two weeks now. When he looked over at her, she just nodded toward the straight chair she'd set beside her rocker a couple days ago in anticipation of this visit.

He picked the chair up and turned it around before he sat down, settling in with his arms resting on the raised back that was now in front of him. "Wore them out, looks like. Didn't think messing with a few sheep would do that to Coordinators."

She snorted softly. "Very funny. I saw what you had those kids doing. Have you told them yet that you replaced a team of eight with just the pair of them? Did a pretty good job too from what I could see."

He just grinned briefly. "Nope. Those people seem to come with somewhat swelled heads as it is. Wouldn't want them to inflate so bad their hats wouldn't fit. Mind you, these kids are better about it than most I've met but they still have some assumptions going that I doubt they even think about that they really should reconsider."

"Howard, not all of their assumptions are wrong." First Kay pointed out gently. "They did do the same work you usually have to hire eight men to do. And even Jamie admits they did a decent job of it despite knowing next to nothing about managing livestock."

"They know more than they may realize." He replied quietly. "I've been chatting with them. They both have been down here a number of times and have spent a good deal of that time in rural places around people working stock. No, they weren't doing any of the work themselves back then, but they both had their eyes open and don't appear to have been too shy about asking questions either. Their education on stock management is pretty diverse and includes some surprisingly antique methods but overall, they know a good deal more about it than I think they recognize."

He suddenly grinned again. "Well, stock in general that is. Neither one knew much about dealing with a pissed off ram. Still, it does seem like they do learn just about as fast as they like to brag they do. They only had to get hit once each to know they didn't want that to happen again!"

"Ah, I kinda wondered why the Jay was limping there."

"Yeah, old 1926 caught him a sharp but fortunately glancing smack on the knee there at the very end. Boy went down like the proverbial puppet with cut strings. Douglas had all three dogs on the old hog before he could turn back to hit the kid again. I swear, if he didn't throw the finest replacement ewe lambs in the entire flock, I'd make a rug out of that cranky rattlesnake. If it had been anybody but one of the Coordinator kids, I'd have had someone seriously hurt out there today."

"And what have you finally decided on the whole situation then Howard?"

He turned sober eyes on his mother. "They're all ZAFT officers, aren't they?"

"Yes they are." She admitted calmly.

He turned and just studied the young man sleeping in the bed beside his daughter, the one who'd started all this. The one who'd gotten her pregnant; and had had the guts to come down _here_ to find her. The same young man who hadn't thought twice about taking four bullets to save her. He found it very ironic that Ito couldn't remember doing that.

Howard's eye turned back to his two 'helpers'. They both knew what would happen if the EA was informed there were three ZAFT officers in North America out of uniform, truce or no truce. Yet they'd followed Ito here and from all he could tell, not only of their own choice but over his strenuous objections.

"He does seem to inspire a pretty insane degree of loyalty." Howard muttered.

His mother heard him. "Friendship. They aren't here out of loyalty to their captain, they're here because Adrian is their friend."

She looked gravely at him, willing him to understand. "This isn't about Natural and Coordinator and it really has damn little to do with the war aside from it being how they met. It's about two young people who found each other. Who have made some very stupid decisions, and some very responsible ones. And who have very, very good friends who are willing to take unreasonable risks to help them."

He sighed softly. He understood his mother's point perfectly. And these boys, these young men actually, they sure weren't anything like the stories tried to paint them. Yet, in some ways, it only made things harder. How could boys as decent as these have taken his children from him? They couldn't be unique in the ZAFT. They wouldn't have survived if they'd been the only real humans among the 'space monsters' of the ZAFT as described by EA propaganda.

But he'd seen Ito's body. And the scars there hadn't come from flower gardening. Yuri Lubbek had lost that eye somehow and not all that long ago either to judge by the condition of the scar tissue he could see around the eyepatch. Howard had been fifteen years in the marines himself. He knew how a veteran acted. And Lubbek was a veteran. Only Joule still showed enough innocence to have missed combat. This did not make him any less a soldier of the ZAFT though.

He shook his head. He wanted his daughter to be happy. And, when he was being honest with himself, he knew Adrian Ito would make her happy, would be good to her and, most importantly, would be loyal to her. He'd certainly demonstrated what he was willing to sacrifice for her!

All of this was all very well and good. But it didn't change one immutable fact. Adrian Ito was also a serving ZAFT soldier. And there were four empty chairs at the table nowadays thanks to ZAFT soldiers.

"Howard, you got the look of a man running himself in ever smaller circles. You want to tell me about it or do you just want to make like that Ke-Ke Bird from the old joke?"

"Ke-Ke Bird?" His mother could come up with the most obscure references sometimes!

"Yep, that's the one who kept flying in ever tighter circles until he flew right up his own butt. He got the name 'cause then he started yellin' 'Ke, Ke, Ke, Ke-rist its dark in here'!" First Kay tipped her head at him. "So, are you a Ke-Ke Bird or are you gonna stop going in circles and just address the issue?"

"Medicine Woman, I'm having trouble getting past the dead." He addressed his mother by her title, invoking her aid not so much as her son but as any with a problem had a right to.

"Thought so." She replied gently. "You might look at this then and consider what it means."

She held out a small pin, the kind suited to a collar or suit lapel. He took it, curious. The small shield had a gold eagle rising out of an oddly shaped, broken green and silver structure that had what looked like a mushroom cloud in the center of the damage. It took him several seconds to realize the smashed structure was a Plant.

"What is this?" Howard asked, turning the pin to study it from different angles. "Does it commemorate that Plant our people nuked, Junius something?"

"Junius Seven." First Kay corrected. "And no, it's not really a commemoration of the Plant itself. It's a survivor's pin. From what I understand, this specific design was only given to actual residents of the Plant who were there that day, and came out alive."

"There were fewer than two hundred of these given out if I've read the records right." She added quietly. "The pins with a silver eagle were given to surviving family members who weren't at home that terrible day. There were between three and four thousand of those. There is a third design for those who fought, however unsuccessfully, to defend the Plant. I don't know how many of those were issued."

Howard stared at her. "Mother, where did you get this? These have to be almost the rarest things in the whole of the Plants!"

"I borrowed it from the collar of Captain Ito's uniform." She replied with a small, meaningful smile.

* * *

Serin Ito watched a monitor with mild amusement. Lance Thoms had come with Jiro again, for the fifth time in as many days. And for the fifth time in a row, he'd managed to be in the right place at the right time to encounter Rebecca Grayhawk before he could be directed up to her office. His success was not entirely of his own making either. Rebecca had taken to watching for the Thoms Team's command car and making sure she was down in the main lobby in time to 'accidentally' cross his path.

These visits were doing the Grayhawk girl a world of good. She was only a couple years younger than Lance but for the first time, she was dealing with a relationship in which she was not the elder. Her Natural husband had been several years her junior, both emotionally and by calendar count. For the first time, she was talking one on one with another real adult, with another single parent too.

The children were growing fond of the Commander and his son as well. And, through knowing him, they were losing much of their fear of the ZAFT in general. Through knowing Jiro, they were beginning to learn about the Plants too. They were no longer so afraid of being up here now that they had the older boy to turn to ask their questions.

Lance had also taken to bringing his driver in with him, giving them a second ZAFT soldier to get to know. Fortunately, the Sergeant was generally good with children and either had the native courtesy, or the rigid instructions, not to bad-mouth the Earth Forces to the kids. The Sergeant had his daughter with him today, giving Shiloh someone to play with besides the boys for a change.

The children were finding the comparison between their father, who never said anything decent about Coordinators, and the two ZAFT soldiers they'd met so far, who were polite about their enemies, did not make their father look very good. But then, they weren't finding much of anything their Blue Cosmos father told them to be true. About the only thing he'd gotten right so far was the simple fact that the Plants were up in space.

Serin checked the monitors a final time. The children were in the play area of the garden, watched by Sergeant Hauker and the two staff orderlies on duty right now. Lance and Rebecca were having coffee at a small, somewhat secluded table in the cafeteria's outdoors' dining area.

Ah, yes, so he'd stopped denying his interest there had he? Good. It was about time. By the look of things, Rebecca wasn't averse to getting to know the Commander a bit better either. Uhmm. Perhaps a genetic compatibility workup was in order here. It wouldn't do to let this go too far only to have everything come crashing down on the rocks of Plant reproductive law.

"Serin!" Her intercom suddenly barked at her.

She turned off the monitors and activated the intercom screen and voice reply. Roland was staring out at her, eyes alert. And all three of his red pencils were lined up neatly in the brightly decorated cup that served him as a container for any and all longish objects that might accumulate on his desk. Something important had come in from Mendel!

"Yes?" She managed to ask with some indifference.

"Come up will you? This boy is confusing me."

"What boy?"

"This Junk Guild delivery boy you contracted for so we could start getting materials off Earth." He snapped. "What boy did you think I meant?"

"Never mind, I'm coming."

She cut the comm and headed for the door. If this was indeed an Earth materials delivery, it would be the first one in their experiment of using the completely neutral Junk Guild as their agents. The majority of the Guild were ship handlers or mechanics of one stripe or other but they had other skills in their inventory even if they didn't generally advertise them. Kayla had suggested using dummy companies to buy genetic material on the medical markets of Earth. But the Guild could do it just as well and be just as silent about who they were agenting for. And after a careful cost analysis, they were a good deal less expensive than setting up multiple layers of dummy companies would be too.

But those three red pencils were still on her mind as she took the elevator to Roland's office. Had someone inside the Guild decided to kill two birds with one delivery? If so, who? And why?

She arrived in Roland's office to find Skip Martin waiting for her. The unusually stocky Coordinator fell into the ship-handler category of the Junk Guild. Where and just how the twenty-three year old had acquired his own ship was a question probably best left unasked. Much of what the Guild did was somewhat open to legal interpretation after all. But no one would deny the reputation of the crew of _One Man's Trash_ for delivering the most interesting goods in a timely manner and at the agreed price.

"Ah! The Boss Lady!" Skip surged to his feet and held out his hand.

"Good to see you again my friend." Serin smiled as she took the proffered hand in a firm grip. "But I must admit I hadn't expected you to come here yourself. I know you don't like coming into the Plants."

He looked at her soberly. "When Lowe Gear asks me to do a favor for a worried friend, I'll chance a trip to a Plant."

Her eyebrows rose. How had the infamous Lowe Gear gotten into this? More importantly, how deeply was he involved? Things tended to get explosive around that young man. He attracted trouble, and attention, more effectively than a magnet picked up iron filings. Nothing she was doing with Guild assistance would benefit from the kind of exposure having Gear around would bring.

"That's not promising." Roland was also familiar with Lowe's reputation. "What happened?"

"How secure is this room?" Martin counter-questioned.

"Secure enough." Serin replied. "Things discussed here often can't be mentioned in the outer office."

"Right!" The Guild ship-master nodded sharply. "It's like this. Lowe crossed my path three days ago. He said he was on his way to another job. He also said he just happened to be there but this is Lowe we're talking about here. Besides, given how much Doc and the Professor have been chatting lately I'd have to give the odds that it was chance a start point somewhere around a negative one thousand."

"The Professor being?" Serin interrupted.

Skip grinned. "A genius at ferreting out data. Handsome woman, terrible fashion sense, no modesty, and has probably saved Lowe's ass more often than his beloved Red Frame."

"Every good crew needs a data junkie." Roland agreed dryly. "I'm not so sure they all need military grade mobile suits though."

The Guildsman shuddered. "NO! Absolutely not! One of us with one military mobile suit is more than enough! He wouldn't get into half the trouble he does if that idiot didn't have that Red Frame!"

"The story please." Serin didn't want this wandering off track. "You can discuss Lowe and his mobile suit later."

"Right." Skip changed tracks smoothly. "It seems the _ReH.O.M.E_. got a call from one of the teams, there are four I think he said, scavenging on Mendel right now. Something critical had broken down and, as usual, Lowe had the spare parts to sell them. While he was there, helping install those self-same spare parts, a small flyer from one of the other teams dropped by."

Martian looked evenly at his boss and added. "The pilot was from your team."

"There is a great deal of genetic data of many kinds hidden in the ruins of that place." Serin replied neutrally.

Skip's eyebrows rose briefly but he let it pass as he continued with his report. "The man gave Lowe a package to deliver here. Then, as I said before, Lowe ran me down, traded on a favor I owed him, and I've brought it here. That and a verbal message that went with it."

"And that is?" She asked.

"Some kind of code phrase because it makes no sense standing by itself. The message is; 'wound my heart with a monotonous languor.'"

Serin blinked. That was nothing she'd set up with the team on Mendel. She looked over at Roland though and saw he'd gone tense as an over-wound spring. So it had meaning for him and not a good one.

"All right. You may take the message as delivered." Serin told him briskly. "What about that packet?"

"I buried it in with the materials from Earth that I was bringing." Martin gave her a rather oddly evil smile. "Since the seals weren't tampered with, no one searched them at Customs."

She looked over at the small cart just behind the Guild pilot and noted the neat stack of cryo boxes there. Each box carried three seals. One was belonged to the clinic where the materials had come from. Another was applied by Customs of the nation it had shipped out of. The last and only one they all shared in common was added by Aube Customs, where the shipment had been assembled and exported off planet. And as Skip had said, they all were in pristine condition.

Her eyebrows rose in respectful admiration. "I don't think I want to know how you managed that one."

He snorted. "That wasn't half the challenge altering the paperwork to account for the extra box was!"

"No," Roland grinned, "I would imagine not. After all, you _are_ Junk Guild. You people find the dandiest stuff floating lost in space. But it doesn't usually include the latest version of everyone's paperwork. And the revision issue of the forms you handed over to Customs here had to match the records of the revision issue that left Earth."

Skip just looked at the old man, his expression a study in neutrality. "I see you've had some experience in experiments in importing then."

"Just a bit." Roland agreed readily.

The Guildsman and the geneticist eyed each other for several long seconds. Then they both grinned. Serin recognized a problem when she saw one. These two were going to get on far too well together. She was going to have to bring Skip into the knowledge loop regarding Dullindal or he'd get into deep trouble helping out on some half-baked plan of her father-in-law's.

Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She should send the same warning to Lowe Gear too. It might not even slow that hothead down but it would help him survive. And Lowe meant more to the Junk Guild than he knew. In his own very unique way, he'd become something of a living symbol of all kinds of freedom the Junk Guild stood for. And that freedom, of action, of thought, of choice, was not something Gilbert had any sympathy with at all.

She stood and went over to the computer that held their 'special' data. Roland watched with his eyebrows going steadily higher as she made up two packets of information using the same special paper that they'd sent their warnings to their other friends on. She slipped them into the airtight envelopes and sealed them. Then she brought them both back and handed them to Skip Martin.

"These will last about ten minutes after their second exposure to oxygen. You'll need to read them fairly quickly." She told him quietly. "This information could get you killed. So could the lack of it. I leave it to your own judgment just which of your crew you want to share it with but I do not recommend you chose anyone with any weaknesses about the mouth. This second one is for Lowe. He may need it more than you do. The same warning applies to who he may choose to share it with. The subject is the future direction of the Plants political leadership. Let me say that I am not looking forward to the next few years and I will leave it at that."

Martin looked back and forth between them before he spoke slowly. "I rather thought Zala and his group had been dealt with."

"There are those as bad or worse than Patrick ever was." Roland remarked calmly as he studied the ceiling. "That message you brought tells me one of those people has taken a very unhealthy interest in what is going on out on Mendel too. I may need to do something about that very soon now. But it'll have to be done very indirectly too. So I'd appreciate it if you'd read that tonight and get back to me tomorrow. I'll have a job for you if you do. If you decide after reading that packet that you want nothing to do with anything beyond the legal contract we already have, I'll understand that too."

The Guildsman bounced the data packets in his hand thoughtfully before he looked back up at them. "I'd like an idea of what kind of job this would be."

"I'd need you to find a man and pass him an offer from me."

"Who?"

Roland Ito stared hard at the Junk shipmaster. "Gai Murakumo"

Skip's eyes narrowed. "I see. I'll read this and think it over."

"I can ask no more than that." Roland agreed.

They shook hands all around. Serin collected all the paperwork from Skip for the cryo boxes. Roland took them into the tiny lab in the back of his office.

Serin saw the Guildsman out, going all the way to the front door with him. She wanted it impressed on everyone, but most especially on Dullindal's spies, that this was a valued contact; one she would be watching for and over. She didn't want Gilbert to get any cute ideas about mishandling Skip or his people. Considering what he was doing for them, and she knew Gilbert would already know about that, he should be expecting some display of protection from her. It was sometimes just as important to do what _was_ expected as it was to do what was not.

She got back up to Roland's office to find him with the paperwork spread all across his desk. He had one page set up over the magnifier. So, he'd found the report from Mendel. Good. She wanted to know just what the hell was going on.

"Sit down. This is not good." He ordered.

"What happened?"

"They have had several overflights of the facilities and a couple of teams come by on the ground. They did not recognize the planes or any of the people as belonging to any of the other groups currently set up on the colony. Moreover, quiet questions indicate no one else has been given this same attention."

She hissed, drawing in air sharply. This was not good. This was very, very not good.

"And that code line? The 'wound my heart' nonsense?"

He snorted, briefly amused. "I thought using poetry as instructions was your idea. It's a line from a Verlaine poem and was once used to warn resistance groups of the impending invasion of Europe during the Second World War, 1940's old calendar. I thought it would be appropriate to use it for a similar warning again, that's all."

"I see. Who is this Gai Murakumo? The name rings a bell but I can't place it."

"He leads the Serpent's Tail." Roland looked up at her with a mirthless smile. "And I want to talk to him because he's currently based on the colony himself. I can use that placement very advantageously right now."

"Serpent's Tail?" She dug in the back of her mind, she should know about this.

Then it dawned on her. "They're mercenaries!"

"That's right. Mercenaries with a very unusual reputation for staying hired once you pay themby the way." He looked up and she almost hissed again; his eyes were the molten gold they only got when he was very, very, very angry. "Oh, and they're good at their work too."

"Roland, good mercs don't come cheap!" She snapped. "Our resources are getting dangerously close to the point where they could honestly be called stretched. We can't afford mercs of that caliber."

He turned to her grimly. "We can't afford to lose the team digging at Mendel either. Nor can we afford to just have them driven off. They are finding too many interesting things. None of which, I should point out, are things I want in Gilbert's hands! Besides, I don't intend to use our limited resources for this. There is more than data hidden in the ruins of Mendel and I know where to look for some of it. I was something of a snoop back then and we used to get rewarded for industrial espionage."

He grinned, the flash of amusement brief but quite real. "One of my own team had a nose for money. Thanks to his work, we often knew who was funding some of our competitors and just how they were doing it. Raul was a thief at heart. He liked to know where the cash and other valuables were and just how they were guarded. He helped himself to a couple of caches that weren't very well defended and he had many more on record. I hacked his system and copied his data just before I left. And I did it again on my one trip back there for the University to visit their research station on the colony. One never knows when having your hands on the money trails will be useful you know. Even the University wasn't above blackmail sometimes. That was only days before Blue Cosmos destroyed the whole place. I've never needed to go after any of that cash before. Even so, the chance that every last one of those treasure troves is gone is pretty remote. No, I should be able to pay Serpent's Tail with someone else's money. Just like I'm paying the Junk Guild."

"Pay them to do what? I thought we didn't want to draw any attention to our efforts there! How inconspicuous do you think a team of mercenaries hanging around is going to be?"

"Serin, they're already based there." He reminded her. "All I want the Serpent's Tail to do is get a bit more, ah, defensive, yes that's the perfect word, defensive of their base."

"Roland . . . . . . . ."

He just looked at her, eyes flat. "Serin the team has been there just over three weeks. This is only the second shipment they've gotten out. Yet someone is already too interested in them. There is still something there to find. And someone has been guarding it. Unfortunately for them, they were not doing a very good job of it and we have our team on site now. But we planned for stealth, not for a war. Now we either back out, or make a stand. And you know damn well which we can not afford to do."

She just looked at his crooked smile and knew he couldn't be talked out of this. He had a responsibility to those people on Mendel. He'd hired them after all. They wouldn't be there if it weren't for his actions. But the biggest reason she knew she'd never persuade him not to try it was her own complete lack of any other plan to offer in its place. She let her gaze drop. Roland was right; they did owe their Guild techs' protection.

And he was likely also right about there being something to find as well. What he'd described so far indicated the guards were more watchers than defenders. They must have been caught by surprise when the Guild team had moved in. But if they were just watchers, then how long would it be before they did manage to summon the real defenders? She shook her head angrily. Time didn't appear to be on their side at all.

So when Captain Martin came by in the morning to agree to carry the message, she kept her mouth shut. All she did contribute to the discussion was a check for the work Martin and his people had already done. Well, that and she did happen to have the opportunity to tell Skip just where a patrolling mobile suit team had spotted a drifting Alliance long-range fast courier ship. If it was readily repairable as the report indicated, that Alliance ship was one of the fastest things in space. This would only work if the word of Roland's offer reached Murakumo quickly. It didn't surprise her when Skip came up with reasons to leave only minutes after he'd gotten the details from her.

Roland watched the beads of his curtains steady back into stillness after Martian left.

"Serin, where did you hear about that ship?"

"Oh, it was something Miranda mentioned."

"Ah, and where did Miranda happen to hear about it?"

She turned to him calmly. "You know, she never said."

He just stared back at her. "Women!"

"Be grateful for women. We get things done."

He had no answer for that.

* * *


	43. Chapter 43

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well, late again. But I haven't stopped working on it and I WILL FINISH!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Maria Spotted Horse looked around the dining room table with calm interest. Everyone was here except Kayla, the three ZAFT boys, and First Kay. They'd be down later, when she let First Kay know it was time for them to put in an appearance.

Right now, that tiny pin of Ito's had everyone's attention all by it's little self. Howard had brought it down with him and put it on the lazy susan in the middle of the table. He'd forbid anyone to pick it up but they were all more than welcome to stare at it.

The reactions to it were down right fascinating. Only the children had no trace of guilt when they looked at that pin. Everyone else understood what it stood for. Everyone else was to some degree or other ashamed of what it represented. Even Todd and Alys, who were civilians, who had never worn any military uniform, even they felt tainted by the disgrace to their nation and people that pin represented.

Howard himself sat back impassively. Only his mother-in-law had the skill to see the conflict between anger, grief, and shame that was chewing on him. Janet was much easier to read. She openly teetered between her own grief and her understanding of what that pin said about Adrian Ito. The Bronze Spider was looking at it with an air of sadness and sympathy. Jamie and John both appeared caught between denial and comprehension. At the same time, Jamie was trying to comfort his wife. Carol was just crying softly. She saw the losses on both sides and could grieve for both.

The triplets' responses were interesting. Richard wouldn't even look at it. Crystal was almost lying on the table, head on her folded arms, staring at it with her face as close as she could get to it. Doug just sat back; regret the only thing you could see in his eyes. The youngest twins were simply confused and somewhat ashamed of what it stood for.

John finally reached his breaking point. "Why is everyone staring at that thing? It doesn't change anything ZAFT did to us!"

"Nope." The Spider agreed grimly. "But if you think that's why _Pop_ brought it down here you've got a few more problems than I thought you did."

"That wasn't fair Maria!" Jamie snapped. "He's not saying anything that isn't obvious!"

His sister turned her metallic eyes on him. "Never said he was. But you both are shoving your heads in a sandbank here to avoid seeing the rest of the message. And I'll thank you to remember the only thing sticking your head in the sand accomplishes is putting your ass in the air to get it shot off!"

"I do not have my head in any sandbank!" John snarled.

"Yes you do." Doug sighed. "And I'm in no mood to wait for you to admit it either. So I'll just tell you what you don't want to hear; he's lost as many or more to ours than we've lost to his. Message here; quit trying to compare the value of the dead! Ours mean more to us, his mean more to him. End of story! Now get your head back up where it belongs and start using it to think with!"

"I'm not comparing the dead!" John snapped. "I discussing the _fact_ that Ito is a serving ZAFT soldier and he's apparently going to stay one. Kayla is the _Tomahawk_, damn it! How can you just sit there and agree that the Tomahawk should be marrying some enemy officer?

"Because _she_ wants to!" Douglas shouted suddenly. "It's her life John! Butt out of it!"

"It's our family name." Jamie snapped.

His younger brother just stared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You living back in the Middle Ages or something here? 'Our family name'? What, you want to go around picking our sister's husbands for them based on how good they'll make _you_ look? What century do you think this is Jamie? And who died and made you head of the family while we're at it, eh? Pop looks real lively to me!"

"I . . . . . ." Jamie started only to be cut off as everything on the table bounced high.

"Jamie! Shut up!" Janet Grayhawk was suddenly standing, one hand on the table where she'd slammed it moments before. "I've already discussed this with Kayla! I have lost four children. The Ito's lost twenty-three out of an extended family of twenty-six. Do not compare the dead! It benefits no one, least of all the one doing the comparisons. And yes, that's exactly what you and John are doing here! You can call it whatever you like but what you are doing, as opposed to saying, is trying to weight the losses so heavily to our family that you can discount Captain Ito's. Hear me boy, I won't have this!"

She looked around the table, eyes bright with unshed tears. "We can not change the past. We can only live in the present and hope for the future. Nothing and no one can alter what has already happened. So stop it! Just, . . . . . just stop it! Deal with today. Deal with Adrian Ito, the human being. And with Kayla, your sister Kayla, the other human being caught up in this mess. And all of you; stop swearing in front of the children!"

There was a very long silence after Janet sat down. Maria let her eyes wander through the family as they each considered her orders. Not everyone wanted to move on though and that was what Janet had just told them to do. She suppressed a sigh. This could get ugly.

"I like them."

Maria stared at her granddaughter. Alys sat defiantly upright at the foot of the table, daring anyone to contradict her.

"I like them." She repeated clearly. "They're nice guys. We, Earth Naturals, we scare the pogies out of them but they came here anyway. Because they like Kayla. Because **he** _loves_ her! Our _sister_ Kayla. They want her to be safe. The big bad ZAFT space monsters want _our_ sister to be safe! They want her kids to be safe. Now, just what the – pardon my French Mom – fucking hell is so terrible about that?"

"We," Richard replied derisively, "we scare the Coordinators? Very funny!"

"No its not!" Alys snapped. "What, you wouldn't be scared going alone to the Plants with only two buddies to try to rescue someone's girlfriend and his kids? What do you think Coordinators are? Superman in disguise? They're us, Dicky! Just us! They made them using regular human beings! All they did was concentrate some things and clean out the trash! We aren't that different from them ourselves! We've been following the Morrison Plan for four generations now counting Jamie's kids! _We're_ Coordinators without the concentrated parts!"

"Alys, don't stomp on a guy's illusions like that." The General warned her. "They don't like it and they tend to get nasty about it when you do things that way."

"Well maybe I'm feeling nasty right back!" She shouted angrily. "I'm sick of all this! They're good people! And they didn't take any of our family from us! I asked! Adrian admitted he was in the ZAFT and he could tell me where his Team had been the whole war! And it wasn't anywhere near where we lost anyone!"

"He still killed our people." Jamie snapped. "Him and Lubbek. Joule may not have, he may not have ever been in combat. But the other two sure were! And they weren't killing weeds!"

"Yes," Crystal suddenly cut in coolly. "And Kayla was a mobile armor pilot who killed ZAFT soldiers for a year! Yet somehow the two of them have managed to get past the war."

She sat up and leaned back. "In a very real way, this whole thing is none of our business. Doug has a point. I don't recall being asked to pass judgment on your getting married to Carol so I fail to see where you can demand any right to judge Kayla's choice. I can agree that her selection is odd and won't fit in well with the rest of the family but that's as far as I really can go. I'm not going to be living with the man after all, she is."

"I fail to see . . ."

"Yeah Jamie," Todd interrupted. "You fail to see. I'm not sure if I like this deal or not myself. But the guy ate four bullets for our sister without even stopping to think about it. He _cares_ about her! And he's a good enough leader to have two of his own follow him down here when he came for her. Despite what they know will happen to them if anybody talks. If he wore another uniform, you'd be falling all over yourself trying to help him. Maybe you need to quit looking at the uniforms and start looking at the people."

"No, not yet." Adrian Ito's voice cut into the discussion abruptly. "First we do need to deal with the uniforms."

Maria snapped around. Ito stood perhaps ten feet behind the Spider. But it was not the Dreyfus guard or the injured guest who was there now. Now they were, willing or not, hosts to a ZAFT Elite in full dress reds. Well, to a pair of them really.

She looked past him to find Kayla standing just inside the door. She was flanked by Yuri Lubbek in ZAFT's gray uniform and Voril Joule, who also wore dress reds. Too pregnant to fit into any of her own uniforms, she'd elected to wear a white dress with gray trim that gave an impression of an Earth Alliance uniform. First Kay stood behind the trio and just shrugged when Maria glared at her. Obviously the kids had taken things into their own hands and had ignored her attempts to guide the inevitable confrontation onto less dangerous ground.

Jamie Grayhawk was on his feet and between his family and the ZAFT soldier so fast he could have been a Coordinator himself. "That's close enough!"

Ito just met his angry stare with weariness. "Do you even know what you're afraid of any more? Or is the clothing just that scary?"

"You bastard!"

"No, I am not. But the records that would prove it are gone now." Adrian just walked past Jamie, shocking him into frozen stillness by the boldness of the move as he reached across the table for his collar pin. "I'm tired of hating people who had nothing to do with starting the war. I've met too many of you now. The old lies just can't blind me anymore."

He held the pin on his open palm. "I'm even more tired of being hated for things I had nothing to do with. No one chooses their own parents, Colonel. You were born to Naturals who decided not to alter what they were getting. I was born to Coordinators who really couldn't imagine a child of theirs who wasn't also a Coordinator. With no 'unnatural' intervention at all, my children will be like me and not their mother. It just happened. We did nothing to influence how they came out. That was decided by my parents and yours when they had me made like them and had Kayla produced so very genetically clean."

The Elite stepped back, fastening the pin to the collar where it belonged. "I'll fight whoever comes against the Plants with intent to destroy them, but I refuse to get caught up in useless hatreds again. All Naturals are no more alike than all Coordinators are."

He smiled wryly. "After all, you pretty much have the full range of Natural reactions encased right here inside your own family. Every response from Larry's attempted murder to Kayla's accepting my proposal, all in one single Natural family. And you know, there was only one of you who intended to kill without any thought to who I might be. The rest of you were willing to at least learn our names before you decided if you wanted to shoot us or not. I can see something hopeful in that."

"What changed your mind?" Howard asked in the taut silence that followed Ito's speech.

"One of yours did. 'Why the hell are we trying to kill each other?' I asked him." Ito replied. "His answer was kind of scary. 'Because we're human, Ito. And for some humans, what is different, not of their tribe, is dangerous and must be destroyed so their tribe can flourish. You get someone who thinks like that with serious leadership skills and you have wars.' And I told him that stank as a reason to kill each other. He reminded me it didn't make it any less valid. That all you had to do was listen to the propaganda from either side to hear it. He was right of course. I haven't found much he was wrong ever about. But learning that from an Earth Forces officer is what really, seriously, forced me to recognize there were more good people on his side than just Kayla. Then too, I'd just learned that the pilot of the Strike and the Freedom was a Coordinator. That he'd chosen to defend his Natural friends against his Coordinator friend because he knew the Naturals couldn't fly the mobile suit and probably wouldn't survive without his help. He chose friendship over genetics. And they accepted him as one of them."

Maria watched with fascination as the words wove a story of conflicts of the soul. "I've spoken to Captain Ramius since that day. So I now know that in many ways that Coordinator managed to become something very like the heart of the _Archangel_. He was considered one of them and they were nearly shattered when they thought he'd died. They didn't really recover until he returned, piloting the Freedom, a gift to him from another Coordinator who wanted the killing to stop, yet who knew he would be taking it back to save an Earth Forces ship."

Amber eyes turned gently to meet the still angry golden brown ones of Jamie Grayhawk. "I spent a couple weeks on the _Archangel_ right after Second Jachin Due. It was a Three Ship mobile suit that found the four of us floating out there, just about out of power, almost dead. They took a chance and brought us aboard. They saved us if you want the flat truth. Yes, Yuri lost the eye but from what all the medics have said it was beyond saving almost from the instant the splinter hit it. None of us could blame anyone on the _Archangel_ for that."

Adrian sighed, "I learned a lot about myself in those weeks. Even more than I learned about Naturals. Not all of it was pleasant to discover either. But I've promised myself to never disappoint the ghost of the man who first taught me to look past genetics with _everyone_, not just the woman I fell in love with. So, now I can't hate a group any longer. Individuals, yes I most definitely can hate individuals. But not a blanket whole that makes no distinctions, no, not that ever again."

"Must have been someone remarkable to affect you like that." The Spider asked indirectly.

"There was only one Mu La Flaga." Adrian agreed quietly answering her.

"Ah, ha." The General replied, enlightened. "So you met the Hawk of Endymion. Yes, I see what you mean now. I've had the advantage of meeting La Flaga once myself. If you didn't pay attention, you could miss the real man. But once you saw past that warped sense of humor and irreverence for the gods of command, you did meet one of the real rare ones there."

"But I thought the Hawk of Endie-mon was our hero!" Six year old Roy yelled in confusion.

"He was." Adrian agreed wearily. "But someone like that, really, is a hero for all peoples. You won't find many in the ZAFT who didn't respect him and most who say they don't are lying. He was one of those very rare men who transcended the issue of 'sides' in the war and who stood for the best in all of us, Earth Alliance or ZAFT. I think he'd probably smack me silly for saying this, but knowing him even for the single day I did was a genuine privilege."

"The late Lt. Commander La Flaga isn't the subject of this discussion." John Grayhawk snapped angrily. "Nor does he have a da . . . . ., one single thing to do with it!"

"Incorrect." Yuri walked quietly forward and took one of the empty chairs so clearly set aside for the four of them. "Mu's influence on this entire business is very indirect and very real. It isn't easy to describe either. How do you weight a couple of conversations that lasted less than an hour total? And the subject of those wasn't love or marriage or even just being friends. They were about aspects of the war. Yet what we discussed has found its way into a lot of things I do every day. Because they were essentially about dealing with people, friends and enemies alike. And I'm here right now because I listened to that man, paid attention to what he was saying between the lines even more than what he said directly."

He sighed. "Mu La Flaga wanted to see both sides step back from their blind hates and really look at each other. He had a striking talent for making you look into yourself, and for enabling you to face what you found there. Kira was lucky beyond belief to have had him for a teacher and partner on the battlefield. If you were to pin him down, he'd probably tell you he learned more about living than he ever did about fighting from Mu. And so did we. Because he was generous enough to share that with his enemies. So now I, and I know Adrian does as well, think of Mu La Flaga as a friend I never had a chance to know well enough."

He cocked his head at first Jamie, then John. "If we can learn so much from one Natural, why are you afraid to learn less than that from three Coordinators?"

"It isn't fear, Yuri, its loyalty." Kayla said gently. "He and Paul did everything together. Paul led and Jamie happily followed when they were kids. It got more equal as they got older. But the fact is, he was tighter with Paul than with his own twin. And Paul died on the moon, cut down by some pilot in a GINN. The relationship between John, Larry and Mitch was similar. And Mitch died at Luna One, again lost to a ZAFT GINN."

She shrugged unhappily. "Steve and Sandy figure into this too, even though they weren't combat personnel. It's a question of how you think of them. To Jamie and John, this is a betrayal of their loss. I see this as a validation of them; that they didn't die in vain, that there will be a peace, the one that they paid so highly for. In the end, its all about how you see things."

"Kayla, let me ask you something." Jamie didn't look at her really, his eyes might be pointed her way but what they saw wasn't even on the planet. "Do you honestly think this will last, this peace you're prattling about?"

She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know Jamie. I know a lot of people of very good will are going to try to make it stick. And, yeah, I know there are a lot of hateful bastards out there who are gonna be trying to pull it apart before it can get established too. But you have to go on living either way until it all shakes out. There are decisions you can't put off a few years while you wait for history to make up it's mind which way its gonna jump. I'm pregnant. The kids will be here in April. I have to decide if I'm gonna marry their father _now_ if I want them to be legally legitimate in both our societies. I can't wait for the politicians or the verdict of time. Since I love and want the man, I've decided to go with him. If I've bet wrong on the peace, I'm gonna get hurt sometime in the future. I know that. But the future never gets here you know. There is only the 'now' that you live in. And you can only make your decisions based on the data you have on hand."

"I see. How about you, Ito. What do you think about this 'peace'?"

Adrian met Jamie's eyes, which were now focused on his. "If I could fully trust it, I'd be going back to school to complete my degree in mechanical engineering. Since I can't, I'll be staying in this uniform. I can only pray I'm making the wrong choice."

He shrugged. "But I can tell you marrying a Natural will not sit well with my senior commanders. So, I am also choosing to put some very real limits on my career in the ZAFT anyway. She is more important to me than some hazy delusion of future rank will ever be."

"We're betting on the peace too, son." Howard suddenly spoke up slowly. "By taking these boys in for these last two weeks, we've made some permanent enemies among the state politicians ourselves. By not forcing Kayla to have an abortion, we've made more with the Blue Cosmos. And you know, I honestly don't give one rat's ass about that any more. They're bad people and I don't want to be their friend. So in a way, I've already committed this family to the hopes the peace process is raising. And I can't find it in me to regret it."

He leaned forward wearily. "I was fifteen years in the service myself. You lose people. It goes with the job. You cry, you go to funerals, and you pick up the pieces of your life and soldier on. It's about time you and John and Richard began to gather your pieces and looked to the future. You've held on to this too long and too hard. Keep it up and you'll be no better than Lawrence is. And while I will always mourn the dead, I'll cry harder for the waste of the living. My fifth son has thrown himself away. Don't make me cry for my second one."

The handsome raven and silver haired man turned grimly to the former enemy who his daughter had chosen. "And while we're at this Ito, understand that if you ever hurt her, I'll hunt you down and butcher you like a rabid dog. I'm not sure I like you. I can respect you for what you were willing to do for Kayla and for having the cold nerve to come here for her in the first place but I still haven't decided if I like you or not. You could tip that the wrong way real easy here. Don't ever forget that."

"I won't sir." Adrian replied solemnly. "I am hoping to have the chance to return from time to time, bringing Kayla and the children with me. I want them to know this place, this world, and their Natural relatives. Peoples who know each other as friends and relatives don't fight so often as those who don't."

"That's true." First Kay suddenly spoke up. "But never forget that the most savage fights in all history are those inside families. When the 'family' encompasses a nation, you get something impossibly bitter and the residue poisons lives for generations. I'm all for getting to know each other. It kills the fear of the unknown when you do. But don't let yourself believe it'll solve all the universe's problems boy."

"No Ma'am." Voril abruptly stepped forward. "Knowing each other is the only path to lasting peace. We have to. Because this genie is out of its bottle and you will never stuff it back in. Even if Blue Cosmos managed to destroy the Plants and most Earth Coordinators, they wouldn't be rid of us. The techniques that make us are routinely used all over the globe to correct medical problems. And when a technique exists that will allow someone to gain an advantage, real or just perceived, it _will_ be used to do so. We exist because someone decided he want to see if he could do it. We expanded because there was a demonstrable benefit to the individual to be what we are. And there was a vast economic gain available to those who could control our work. So we will continue to be made, legally or not. Because there is already too much evidence that there is gain of many kinds to be had by doing so."

Joule turned to Jamie. "We have fought and too many died. We may again. But unless we make the effort to get to know and to accept each other, 'may' is doomed to become 'will'. I took my student's GINN out with everyone else in my class to defend the Plants at Second Jachin Due. I was lucky, the battle stayed well away from me. Others weren't as lucky. They fought and a lot of them died on those two days. I'm an Elite. I'm one of the best ZAFT can field. But if I never have to fire a shot for real to defend my home, parents, and baby sister, I'll be just as happy. Because I was there, on the edge of that battlefield. I know what the authentic thing is. And I'd rather not participate if we can come to any other means of a just settlement for us both."

The boy sighed. "Can you at least consider this? Can you at least recognize that many of us don't want to fight you if we don't have to? This family of yours has been very generous to us. I get a bit sick thinking about the idea that I might have to face any of you in a real war. You're good people. I don't want to fight you."

"I can second that." Doug agreed quietly. "I rather like you guys too. Going against you in a mobile suit wouldn't be any kind of fun at all."

Voril grinned at him. "Thanks."

Doug grinned back. "No problem. Besides, if we get along I may be able to talk you into coming back for the spring shearing. Wanna take charge of the chutes again?"

"No!" Yuri yelled. "I'm never coming within horn range of one of those monsters you call rams again!"

"Sure!" Voril laughed. "You willing to be my partner since the fearless adjutant to the Thoms Team is chickening out?"

"Well, me and half my squadron maybe. Has Pop told you the pair of you replaced an eight man team all by yourselves? I'll need at least three buddies to keep up with you!"

"Nope, I hadn't." Howard replied for himself. "Didn't want them to have their heads swell so bad the hats wouldn't fit."

Adrian snickered. Kayla laughed. Alys and Todd joined her. Even Richard cracked a smile as just about everyone else joined in the amusement. The conversation became much more general after that. Nothing had been officially solved but it was obvious to everyone there that the opposition to the marriage was effectively gone. Jamie was the lone holdout and he was losing the war as his wife pulled him aside to talk it over.

Maria Spotted Horse was very pleased with the outcome. The ZAFT boys had stood up for themselves and their people without starting any fights. Her grandchildren, having gotten to know some real, Plant raised Coordinators, weren't so inclined to hold onto the grudges grief had raised any more. She had no delusions that this would mean the end of all conflicts over the issue, she was far too old to believe in that fairytale. But it did mean the future battles would be over future issues. The past was finally being allowed to be the past.

Eventually, she joined her daughter, First Kay, and the rest of the household's women in the kitchen to cobble together something to feed the crew. The meal was going to be very informal and would be mostly finger foods. Neither she nor First Kay wanted to break up the conversations going on right now with a sit down dinner.

They got the sideboard loaded with sliced meat, breads, cheeses, the last of the leftover brats, a couple of quickie salads and the disposable plates and silverware. Within minutes, there were small knots of people scattered around the room with food perched precariously on their knees as they continued to talk. She'd just filled her own plate when the phone rang. Maria gave it an evil stare but First Kay just put her dish down and went to get it.

She was about to join the cluster based around young Joule when she noticed First Kay's growing tension. Her eyes narrowed. Now what? She moved back to the sideboard to leave her plate beside her sister-in-law's and went over to listen in.

"Oh I understand you all right Kirby." First Kay said as Maria joined her. "But we still have a problem."

She listened a few moments, then asked. "So how long do you think it'll be before any of them can actually speak to a lawyer?"

She jerked back and stared at the phone, plainly shocked by the answer before jamming it back against her ear. "What do you mean they already have? Do you know just how much danger that puts us in?"

Maria seriously wanted to be listening in on this. She understood the main situation from no more than the little she'd heard so far but the details were going to matter here and she wasn't getting any of them. She made a grabbing motion at the phone only to have First Kay put a hand out and stop her.

"So what your saying is they weren't coherent enough for the lawyer to get the real story yet right?"

She nodded as she listened, driving Maria to the edge of frenzy. "Fine, then. You keep them quiet for another forty-eight hours and we'll see to it that the problem leaves town."

The answer must have been fairly complex because First Kay just listened and nodded for a good three minutes. Maria was about ready to throttle her and just steal the phone. Instead, the elder Kayla gave a very brief, bright smile and one last nod.

"Well sure I'll take three days if you can manage it! Yes, both of us will come. Full blessing for the baby, no charge. Thank you Kirby!" First Kay hung up, turning grim eyes to her Medicine partner.

"We have a problem."

* * *


	44. Chapter 44

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Ah, interpersonal relationships! What joys they are. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

On time, this time. Not as much or as well laid out as I'd hoped though. Still, it covers the needed ground.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

There was a military maxim about dividing and conquering, a scheme for breaking down an enemy force into manageable packets. Serin wondered if Roland's idea about applying this to an attempt to rapidly digest the new Mendel data was brilliant or just plain nuts. Or perhaps it was simply that the quantity of data was making the concept 'manageable packets' a bit ridiculous. Whichever it was, it was giving her a major headache.

She pushed back from the computer where she'd just spent the last four hours and closed her eyes. She was finally getting to a point where she could begin to sort this stuff quickly into a series of files she'd created. No cross-indexing was happening yet, she hadn't had the time to generate that complex little protocol, but she could now get the new materials into their major headings swiftly. But her head was pounding from the strain of trying to get this set up so fast and now that she was ready on the system, her body wasn't going to tolerate it. A break was being demanded. Not a fool, Serin let her throbbing head dictate the situation. After all, how good would the job be if she was too distracted to keep an eye on the process?

There were tablets for this head in Roland's desk. She helped herself to a couple, raided his tea, and confiscated several snacks off his tray to go with them. Low blood sugar wasn't helping anything either, she realized as she discovered just how ravenous she was.

About twenty minutes later, time spent eating slowly, letting her eyes close whenever they felt like it, and relaxing in the very comfortable guest chair, Serin began to think she was going to be human again. The headache was rapidly receding, her eyes were beginning to feel less and less like they'd been rolled on a particularly gritty beach, and her stomach was much happier with her. Her brain was also coming fully back on line as well.

That last was what sent her reluctantly up out of the cozy chair to check on her father-in-law. Roland had been working at least as long as she had. Moreover, he was in the tiny clean lab in the back of the office. He wouldn't have had anything to eat or drink in the last four hours either. And while he liked to boast about his endurance, it didn't change the simple fact that the man was on the far side of seventy and really couldn't put in the kind of hours he had a few decades ago without getting himself into trouble. Not but what he wasn't mule-headed enough to try though.

She found him where she'd expected him to be, at his computer. She hadn't anticipated seeing a pair of no-g sealed drink bottles beside him. Serin gave them a very dirty look. One held something clear but the other had a murky blue fluid in it that was probably ZAFT's experimental liquid rations. The flavor of that experiment was pretty bad but the nutrient value was outstanding. Roland had planned better than she had anticipated.

Five different DNA spirals floated over the projector plate in his desktop. She glanced at them briefly, then paused. Serin was not the expert Roland was but she wasn't a novice with these either. And this set struck her as somehow different from any she'd ever seen.

"What are these?" She asked curiously, peering closely at them.

"These are five of the absolutely fascinating fifteen samples your friend Skip brought us from Mendel." He replied, eyes never leaving the screen of his computer where another DNA spiral was turning under much higher magnification.

Her jaw dropped in shock. "They found WHAT? But you and Adrian both told me the place was ruined! That none of the genetic materials had survived! Adrian assured me that all of the cryo facilities were smashed beyond recovery!"

He turned and looked at her with a very odd smile. "Oh they smashed whatever they could find all right. But we already knew they hadn't found everything. Gilbert has that second Da Flaga clone after all and that one had to have been stored there when Blue Cosmos struck the place; not even Hibiki would have let any of them be placed somewhere he didn't have total control over. They didn't find him. Why are you so surprised they missed a few other things? The damn place was a regular rabbit warren after all and had secret rooms in plenty on top of that!"

Serin pulled up the padded lab stool and settled into it, eyes glued to the five slowly turning spirals. "What are they then?"

"Now that is a very good question. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer yet. I can tell you some things though. For one, all of these are prototypes. They are far too simple to be anything like the final design. Moreover, they are all set up with different enhancement packages. It looks like Hibiki came up with several different designs for the same general kinds of enhancements and was testing them in different combinations. He's got three different approaches to enhancing physical strength for example, and six for boosting mental acuity. There are multiple approaches to enhancing vision, agility, disease resistance, boosting skeletal strength, and so on. It's pretty clear not all of these designs were compatible either. So he could only use an upgrade, lets call it x1, with upgrades a1, b3, c8, or d4 for example. I have to wonder how many of these combinations Yuuren worked up. I very much doubt that there were only fifteen."

"What could he do with them? He wasn't raising any children. How could he even evaluate his results?"

Roland shrugged. "Oh, it's possible to do evaluations on this level with reasonable accuracy. But as to what they're really for, I suspect he was using these as base stocks for his more advanced work. These are fairly basic as I said before. They're also damn stable. They are just about perfect as experimental root stocks."

Serin eyed him unhappily. "How closely are these 'root stocks' related to young Yamato?"

"Too closely. They aren't from the exact source he was built from but they are his brothers. They all came from one sperm cell, cloned many times and modified individually. He came from a different base sperm cell but both cells were Hibiki's."

"That's just revolting!"

He shrugged again. "Probably. It hardly matters now. The work is done and the man himself is long dead. There really isn't anyone left to hang this on."

She shook her head grimly. "Oh no, this is far from over. We have these now and we are going to be the ones deciding what to do with them. No, Roland, the responsibility has passed to us now. I hope you aren't thinking about developing any of them."

"Oh yes I am." He replied flatly. "They are in perfect condition and they are _stable_ Serin. Do you understand what that means? They will produce very competent Coordinators who are also _stable_. Such individuals will be naturally reproductive! We have the keys to saving us all right here, in this lab! Don't for one second think I'll toss them aside just because I despise the way they were made!"

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Not at all. You're letting your prejudices get in the way here. Besides, I only have the fifteen variations and less than a hundred of each too. It isn't like they're going to be dominating our entire genetic code all by themselves you know. I'm not sure every cell I have will even develop any longer either. I could get started and find most of them aren't viable any more."

He settled back in his chair. "I understand your aversion, believe me I do. And yes, I will admit that with these for blueprints, I could build similar lines from other sources. But that work will take a couple years. I have these to hand right now. We can begin to get started on a genuinely stable, reproductive Coordinator model this afternoon if we want to rush things. I don't by the way. Picking the other half for each of these cells is going to be important. With the supply so very limited, we want the best crosses we can produce."

"The other half?" Serin eyed him in some confusion. "I thought you said these were viable by themselves."

He blinked. "Well, no, no more than any sperm cell is viable all by itself. What, did you think these were fertilized ova?"

"Yes, I did. That was what it sounded like you were saying after all!"

"No, no! These are just sperm cells! They are a base stock for making Hibiki's crossings! We'll still need to match them with the right egg cells to get the most out of them."

She began to nod slowly as comprehension filtered in. So none of them were actually ready to incubate at all. That was good, very good. It would force Roland to take some time and maybe rethink this whole mad idea. Then something else he'd said earlier suddenly triggered another thought.

"You call these Kira's brothers. How do you know that?"

"Eh? What do you mean, how do I know what? That they're related to Yamato?"

"Well, yes that too but most specifically how do you know they are from a different sperm cell? I thought you didn't have a good genetic chart for the boy."

His eyebrows rose in comprehension. "Oh, yes, that. Well, Kira Yamato may be something amazing as a mobile suit pilot but he's completely ignorant of the concept of bio-security. I spent well over a week on the _Kusanagi_ with him on that Mendel trip. I got hold of his hairbrush on the second day out. Had all the samples I needed from that in ten seconds."

"So you _do_ have a complete gene chart for him, don't you?

"Yes I do. And in many, many ways he's so normal it's almost frightening. But at the same time, he's very, very different. He's been refined to an amazing degree. Each alteration in him is the product of exceptionally high caliber work. Almost nothing is either over or under done. While he's very normal in the majority of his alterations, those items are themselves probably close to the best you'll ever get using a human base. Given what I've learned, I could produce others very like him in six months. The question is, should I?"

"Now that's one very interesting question coming from you Roland."

He eyed her thoughtfully. "Is it? Well, if it is, then consider it the product of age and experience. One Ultimate Coordinator could have been one too many. All of humanity owes a profound debt to the way the Yamato's raised that boy. If he'd grown up angry, jealous, over-proud or any of an array of other emotional extremes we'd have all been in deadly danger. Instead, they raised a normal teen with an unusual sense of responsibility. Kira has no interest in running any life but his own. Give yourself ten seconds to consider what could have happened if he was interested in a wider level of control and I think you'll understand why I'm not sure I should even consider making any more that approach his level."

"Ah! Yes, I do understand now." Serin nodded. "But you still want to use these cells?"

"They aren't anything like Kira. Oh, they're refined to a level close to his all right but they aren't part of a package with anything like his full range of gifts. As I said, in many ways, they're pretty basic. Kira Yamato is not even remotely basic."

"So, let me see if I understand what we have then. There are fifteen cell lines, each different and each in very limited supply. The lines are for making Coordinators. Each line is relatively simple in its enhancement packages but the packages themselves are very, very high quality. Am I completely correct here?"

"Yes, that's about it." Roland agreed calmly. "Think of these as something very like a Morrison Plan Natural. Just about the best one can be and still honestly be human. And like the Morrison lines, these should cross with most existing Coordinator lines to give us an exceptionally healthy child who can marry as they please."

Serin eyed the old man. She'd known Roland Ito too long for him to put much past her and every bit of that experience was warning her he was trying to distract her from something. She wondered just what it was when a thought occurred to her.

"Roland, how would these cross with a Morrison line?"

The fleeting flash of irritation told her she'd found the item he'd wanted her to miss on the first try. She almost laughed at him. She hadn't even been going for that really. It was simply a natural extension of the thought he'd brought up himself regarding crossing Morrison and Coordinator lines.

"We'll know in nine months." He growled.

All amusement fled. "What have you done!"

"Nothing yet. But as soon as I have all fifteen completely recorded I'll be running match programs to find them the best opportunities I have." His eyes were the hard, metallic gold they only got when his mind was made up past changing. "I'll be checking every single line I have on hand for matches but I already know at least two of these will give us outstanding children if I use the eggs I took from Kayla."

"If you do WHAT?" Serin nearly screamed. "ROLAND ITO! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?"

"Hardly." He replied coldly. "If I don't use them to the best advantage, the children will demand them back. I wouldn't be surprised if they get around to remembering them the day after the wedding! Serin, they don't need them and our people do! Adrian and Kayla can make all the kids they can handle without those eggs. We on the other hand, have a decided lack of Morrison Plan genetics. Those eggs represent almost twenty percent of our total supply. Gilbert sent samples all right but they were tiny in quantity and some are too old to be safe to use. Moreover, the scanning I've done of the records for the materials Captain Martin and his people bought for us isn't showing any Morrison lines in the boxes yet. This time you're bucking _my_ obsession. They have the power to go a good way toward making us a viable people. I am not handing that back to the kids to waste! I'll use these and let them make more stable kids with Adrian as the sole source for the male genetics. I'll have a broader base for the project _and_ more great-grandchildren doing it that way. So that's how its going to be."

"Perhaps your ethics _are_ poisoned." Serin told him flatly.

"Maybe they are." He allowed. "But I'm not about to let that consideration get in the way of making us viable. I will tell them about the children after they're born and the two of them can decide if they want to raise them as part of the family or not. But I'll not give them any chance to tell me I can't do it. And I won't hear you if you try it either."

He stared blindly at the far wall. "We will be fully human, Serin, we _will_! No one will ever be able to hold control of our medical facilities over our heads as a means of enslaving us ever again! We will be whole, and we will be _free_!"

She stared at her hands. She had no answer to that. She wasn't even sure there was one.

* * *

"What problem?" Janet Grayhawk asked quietly.

Both Medicine Women turned, startled. Then they looked hard at each other. No one should have been able to slip up on them like that. Someone, it seemed, wanted Janet in the loop.

That was probably wise, Maria decided. Janet was going to be a major factor here. First Kay might not think so but she knew her own daughter very well. Janet wasn't going to let Adrian and Kayla leave until they were legally married under Colorado law. She had picked up this burr-under-her-saddle idea that the Plants would throw Kayla out the instant the children were born if the two of them didn't have a lawful Earthside marriage to stop them.

"Blue Cosmos has finally sent a lawyer 'round to represent Larry and the others." She told her daughter before First Kay could come up with some distraction of a story. "I didn't take the call, but apparently Kirby thinks he can hold off the woman for another three days. But that's all the time we have to get these boys and Kayla out of here before the law comes down on Larry's side."

"But," Janet faltered, then rallied. "We need to do something about that. First though, we must get those two married."

"How?" First Kay asked bluntly. "A license takes a week and involves blood tests. Any half-assed test at all is going to turn up the fact that a Coordinator boy is looking to marry a Natural girl. That'll set off fireworks all on its own."

"Not if it's done under a special license." Janet replied grimly. "A special license doesn't require any tests, just the consent of the two involved."

"Small problem here." Maria pointed out. "We don't have such a license and while First Kay and I can do a lot, we can't make one of those pop out of thin air."

Janet Spotted Horse Grayhawk turned icy emerald eyes on her mother. "Call Uncle Jerome."

"Excuse me?" Maria stared at her. "Aren't you the one who told him to leave this house and never set foot inside again? Just how do you think you're going to manage this?"

The frozen gem eyes didn't even flinch. "You will call him and you will tell him _I_ will tell everyone in the North Atlantic Federation about Hasslehoff if he doesn't issue the license and perform the ceremony. And you will tell him if he does, I'll give him the data and never mention it again."

"Hasslehoff?" First Kay asked with interest.

"Never you mind what it's about." Janet snapped. "It'll cause Uncle Jerome a scandal of epic proportions if the story got out. That's all anyone else needs to know. And it'll bend him to my will this one time. It isn't something that could ever be used more than once anyhow."

"I think I have a . . . . . ." First Kay began huffily.

"No, don't pry." Maria cut her off. "I think I know what this is about. I'll tell you later. For the moment lets just say it should work as Janet expects."

She turned to her daughter. "You do understand that if this is what you've been using to keep Jerome off the ranch, he'll take it as his God-given right to come back once you hand over whatever it is you have for him."

"I know." Janet agreed. "But the power of a loaded shotgun isn't something that damned fraud is going to challenge either. He's a coward, Mother. I find myself wondering if his weakness isn't what Larry inherited; that terrible _need_ for power that has made such a ruin of my son. Such things will run in family lines you know. And for all our genetic work, we still aren't perfect creatures and likely never will be. Nor has anyone ever identified a 'cowardice' gene or a 'megalomania' gene. We could chop both out of the family if we only knew where to cut."

"You know," First Kay suddenly put in. "We could also tell the bastard that we'll curse him if he attempts to force his way back into this house. He tells everyone he doesn't believe in the Spirits or in our powers but you know damn good and well that he does. He'll have to find some excuse to stomp out but if we carry through, he'll run."

"Do you really want to have to put up with his ravings about how his God is more powerful than our Spirits again? I nearly puked the last time we went through that."

First Kay turned a very unamused glare on her sister-in-law. "I don't plan to put up with anything. I plan to pretend to understand the general outline of this Hasslehoff business and use that to shut him down before he can get started. Janet says it'll be a major scandal. Well, given this is Jerome we're talking about there are only a few general headings that could possibly fall under. We're most likely talking about abuse of trust, theft, false witness, or sex. My bet would be a combination of two or more since Janet has been able to use it to keep him out."

"Try a mix of all of those with a healthy dose of racism tossed in." Janet said wearily. "It was a very, very ugly incident and it's been hushed up a long time now. When you consider his position in the Church today, well, this isn't something he can afford to have come out. I wouldn't even think of doing this if there was anyone else we could get. But it has to be someone who is both a cleric and a Justice of the Peace. Only someone with both qualifications can issue a special license and perform the required religious ceremony to make the law happy. Neither of the two local county men would accept marrying a Natural to a Coordinator so it has to be Jerome and the only way he'll do it is if he's staring social, political, _and_ religious doom in the face."

"You got that right!" Maria said feelingly.

"All right." First Kay nodded firmly. "We do it that way then. But I suggest we think about getting both Matthew and Elena to come as well. He just might think he could bully two women. He isn't gonna try that with his older brother and both older sisters staring him down even if he does manage to ignore me. Besides, they're both fine shaman in their own rights. If there's gonna be a hasty wedding, lets get all the blessings for it we can!"

"Then you wanna call Charlie and let him know this is happening? Because if you don't invite him to Kayla's wedding, he'll likely do something very unfriendly to us both."

"Eh, well, yes, you have a point. All right, I'll call Charlie. That leaves you stuck with getting hold of your baby brother."

Maria turned faintly green but nodded. Dealing with Jerome had become impossible when he'd turned nineteen and caught a next-to-terminal case of religion. His version of the Baptist faith made most honest Baptists barf. It was so far beyond merely conservative that she sometimes wondered if he'd approved of using fire to heat his cave yet. And his views on the role of women were something right out of the dawn of the Middle Ages. She sincerely hated having to talk to him.

"Good, this is settled then. I'll tell the children." Janet strode off.

"Kayla, this isn't going to be as easy as Janet wants to believe." Maria noted unhappily. "Jerome will be furious and we both know what he thinks of Coordinators."

"He can be as mad as he wants to be but if this Hasslehoff business is as serious as Janet thinks it is, he'll do it. He was just elected Deputy Director for the North American church three months ago. He won't jeopardize that standing, the goal of his whole life now. He'll hold his nose, be very rude, and do it. We will have to prepare the ZAFT boys for his attitude and mouth though. We really, really do not need one of them to lose it and slap him brainless."

"That brings up another point. How are we going to get the four of them out of here? I've been seeing the odd truck or car parked in unusual places ever since the day of the fight. The ranch is under watch by those who don't trust the Coordinators. How do we get them past those eyes?"

"Well, for one, Kirby will run a sweep of the area tonight and will run off anyone he finds. He's actually done a couple earlier but he didn't go all out to make absolutely sure he had all the vigilantes scared off. He will this time. And he's got some drug-running incident that happened two counties over in New Mexico last night that he's going to use for an excuse to be cracking down on all 'suspicious' activity. Apparently whatever happened has got the law enforcement community real pissed. Even the deputies he can't depend on to help us will be working with a real will to find these drug people. He'll just aim them where he needs them."

"So far, so good. At least we'll be free of eyes for a bit. How do we get them out though? If Larry talks, and we both know he will, that lawyer will have material witness warrants out for all three boys in a heartbeat."

First Kay just shook her head. "I've no idea. I was planning to do a bit of 'looking' in the smoke tonight."

"Then I'll try the water." Maria agreed. "Adrian Ito has Coyote's blessing, there will be a way."

"Oh, I think I can be of some help there, Gran."

They turned to find the Bronze Spider leaning against the wall, burger in one hand and drink in the other.

"How long were you listening?" Maria asked calmly.

"Long enough to know we're gonna be graced with another visit from Great Uncle Jerome."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic or anything." First Kay muttered sarcastically.

"Hey, that blind and rabid wolverine could drop dead in the morning and the whole world would be cleaner for it. But under the circumstances, I can see why Mom is sending for him. I'll leave him to her and to you. But the issue of how to get Coordinators out of a tight spot, that I can do something about for you."

"How?" Maria asked baldly.

"I know how to reach the network that rescues Coordinators targeted by Blue Cosmos." The General replied simply. "How did you think Rebecca and the kids managed to vanish? I put her in touch with them. They got her out. She's probably up in a Plant by now with the kids, safe from Larry for good."

"You know this and you've never told anyone in Headquarters?" First Kay asked.

Maria the younger turned grim eyes on her grandmothers. "I stumbled across the data by accident. Fortunately for a lot of people, I didn't do it until I'd had far too good a chance to see where senior command was drifting. That incident with the team experimenting with animal tranquilizers to catch Coordinators wasn't the first time I'd had unwelcome dealings with the power Blue Cosmos has in the military. I'm not going to discuss any of those incidents either. Just understand that I've never hated those people for just being what they are. It isn't like they get a choice in the matter after all. The alterations are done on embryos. I've never heard of any embryo that could petition to avoid being altered. So when it became obvious that this war was really about genocide, I decided I wasn't going to play along. I've sent quite a few into that network. I've never heard of any of them being caught. This will be the first time though that I've ever sent them combat aged boys to rescue."

Maria eyed her grand-daughter. "Well then, we have both major problems solved. Lets get to work. It seems three of us have some calls to make."

"Right!" The Spider and First Kay agreed in chorus.

* * *


	45. Chapter 45

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Honest, we will get to the wedding and we will get to the running from Blue Cosmos part. It just isn't this part.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The small lab was empty now, Roland had finally admitted he was getting too tired and had gone to bed. She had the place to herself. Moreover, for the first time in a very long time she knew her father-in-law wouldn't be popping back in. That vile blue stuff had let him run almost sixteen straight hours but when it lost it's effectiveness it was as though the old man had slammed face first into a brick wall. She was willing to bet he's sleep close to another sixteen hours to make up for this marathon session too.

She sighed quietly. Roland Ito was a good man, a decent man, but he was also a driven man. His decisions were very much influenced by his obsessive need to see at least a solid base group of Coordinators come into existence who could safely and securely reproduce without a med lab. It made some of his decisions rather questionable. This was especially true as he was older than most realized as well and his health wasn't as good as most Coordinators was. For Roland had been born less than two years after George Glen himself; indeed was a product of that same team as they worked to refine their techniques. Some things they had improved, some they hadn't.

Roland was probably a good twenty to twenty-five intelligence points brighter than George but Glen was much better off physically. He was the stronger and the faster and the healthier. Roland had a more durable skeletal structure and keener eyesight with a slight improvement in nutrient absorption and utilization efficiency. George was more efficient in oxygen utilization. Despite all the other tinkering done, the rest was pretty much even.

They'd grown up very differently though. George had been encouraged to be the best he could be at everything he tried at all times and under all circumstances. Roland's parents had been much warier of their neighbor's reactions. He'd been taught to hide what he was. To lead only some of the time, to make deliberate mistakes so the Natural children around him wouldn't be too jealous of his abilities. He'd succeeded so well he was in his late twenties before his Natural brother and sisters discovered the truth. Fortunately, the family was a close-knit one and the information did not break those bonds. She shuddered to think what Roland would have been like if he hadn't had his family to support him back then when Coordinators were so very, very rare that they didn't even have their own name yet.

He had never been allowed to share George's naive optimism about people and that was probably very wise. For while George was off winning medals, Nobel Prizes and deadly jealous enemies, Roland was securing a wide-ranging education and a very lucrative job that had no spotlights attached to it. Then George opened his big mouth and altered the world for everyone living on the planet.

Serin sat at the desk and brought the computer up. George Glen's announcement had set her father-in-law's childhood trained tendencies to secrecy from simple caution to near paranoia. Time had done _nothing_ to weaken the trait. And while it had probably kept him alive back then, it was no help in dealing with him right now. She wondered how many layers of code she was going to have to go through this time to find out just what he was up to.

Three hours later she sat back very unhappy and very thoughtful. There was nothing new on the computer. She could account for every single byte in use now and while she'd turned up some interesting tidbits, she hadn't found any analysis, not even the most basic bare bones of a preliminary outline, that pertained to the Mendel data or the recovered samples. And that was just wrong.

Roland didn't study things without noting down what he was finding and what he thought of it. He did that for everything. He'd done it before he'd fixed the stupid kitchen drain for god's sake! But there were no notes on the Mendel finds, none at all.

She folded her hands on the desk and leaned on her elbows. Removable memory was always a possibility but using that left tracks on the computer and there were no such tracks. Besides, it was idiotically dangerous to have this kind of information outside this room. Roland knew that. That was why all the Mendel data and the samples had been immediately pulled in here in the first place. Yes, she'd worked on the data in the other office but it had all been sent back in here just as soon as she was done for the day. Not one byte of it was left on the outside computer.

Handwritten notes? Possible of course but unlikely. Those would become too voluminous too quickly for this space and the same argument against moving the information outside the room would apply against them too. Of course, they could be electronically copied and reduced but that would be time consuming and a significant waste of paper, a waste that wouldn't go unnoticed by Gilbert's spies. She just couldn't see him doing something so silly.

Which left what? Putting it down in some kind of code? Storing it all in his head?

Serin came to a complete stop at that last thought. What had he found? She shivered. What had Roland Ito found that he deemed too dangerous to record? Because she was suddenly and absolutely sure that was the answer. And yes, he had the mind to store the data, at least for a while. He could keep it where only he could reach it. Where, she realized, only he could _use_ it.

She turned back to the computer. This time she brought up the DNA records, one at a time, and began to look them over carefully. She was nowhere near as good as he was with them but after all these months as his most trusted assistant; she was a genuine expert now. If there was something truly unusual in these, she would find it.

* * *

The library in the Grayhawk house was an amazing place. It was a huge room for one thing. There were several windows, about a dozen overstuffed chairs, two genuine library tables, and the rest of the space was crammed with floor to ceiling bookcases, all of them full. It made a very good hideaway.

Adrian slipped carefully into the massive chair at the very back of the room. It was dimly lit back here and very quiet. In a house overflowing with people, quiet places were something to cherish, and to not mention to anyone else. He was getting very fond of most of Kayla's family but they were somewhat overwhelming when taken enmasse.

They were _very_ overwhelming when they got some idea in their collective heads and ran with it as a team. And right now the idea they were running with was getting him married to Kayla under local law. It was outright scary how focused they'd become in the space of a single hour! Every one of them, even the Colonel, had some idea to contribute to the wedding. But none of them would listen to him at all.

'Sorry Ito, but you don't know anything about how things work here.' 'Thanks for the offer Adrian but that just won't do.' 'Ah, do they really do that at weddings up in the Plants?'

He'd given up and just retreated. He was outnumbered and outgunned and this time being a Coordinator wasn't going to help him win anything against the Naturals. Weddings were about the _bride_. The groom just got to show up and say 'I do'. They'd co-opted Yuri and Voril before either of them could even think of saying no so he didn't even have anyone to sit and commiserate with him.

A quiet but somewhat uneven step announced a visitor. There was only one person who walked like that right now. He looked up with a weary smile as Kayla peeked around the bookcase to check if he was there.

"Ah, I'd wondered where you'd slipped off to." She said gently as she came over to join him.

"I cut my losses and abandoned the field." He admitted, moving to the far left of the chair to make room for her.

She laughed softly as she slipped snuggly in beside him, his arm automatically going around her shoulders. "Gee, I can't imagine why. Mom's organizing the wedding itself. Gran's planning the dinner. Dad's working on getting hold of any relative he thinks he can invite who won't tattle. First Kay's setting Spirit Wards to protect the whole house. Maria's making mysterious phone calls. Jamie's got all the guys up in the attic digging out the folding chairs. Crystal has Alys and Carol up in the attic looking over stored decorations to see what could be used. Just about everyone is getting in someone else's way. Nah, I've no idea why you went into hiding."

Adrian shuddered. "Your family does nothing by halves do they?"

"Not when it really matters to us we don't."

"What have I gotten myself into?"

"A big, close, family."

He looked at her, eyes troubled. "Have I? Or am I taking you away from this? Kayla, your family, they're _good_ people. I like them. But they don't trust me. I'm ZAFT to them and legitimately so. And your family has no cause to like ZAFT at all."

Very serious emerald eyes stared straight back at him. "No, I doubt we ever forgive ZAFT. But knowing you, Voril, and Yuri has done for my family what that stay on the _Archangel_ did for you. Jamie may never admit it out loud but even he isn't going to see all Coordinators as a faceless, amorphous, killer mass again. We now know three, real, individual, ZAFT soldiers. And they turned out to be nice guys. You blew up the image. The evil space monsters turn out to be three rather shy kids in their teens who are polite, helpful, and almost painfully anxious to please. You really weren't supposed to be like that you know."

He blinked. "Shy? We aren't shy!"

Her eyebrow went up. "Ha! You should see poor Yuri try to deal with a conversation when both Doug and Crystal are after him at the same time. And have you actually watched Voril around Alys? He gets absolutely tongue-tied. He just sits there making sheep's eyes at her while she can't shut up! Whenever he's around, she's chattering a mile a minute. She'll talk about anything and nothing. This is how _she_ gets when she's nervous and shy around someone. I think they have a thing for each other."

He opened his mouth to protest, then shut it. He'd seen that behavior a couple of times. He hadn't paid much attention to it, being focused on either Kayla or just walking at the time. But now that she put it that way, he could see that there might be something to the idea. This meant he had to get Joule back to the Plants as soon as he could. He'd only turned sixteen a month ago. That was far too young to be getting serious about anyone, let alone about a Natural girl who wouldn't be well received by the powers that be in the Plants.

"Penny for your thoughts." Kayla said softly.

"Sixteen is too young." He replied automatically.

"Ah, yeah, it is. Not to mention that Mom would be furious if she didn't graduate because she wanted to run off to the Plants and get married."

"I would imagine his Mom wouldn't be all that thrilled if he wanted to get married at sixteen either."

"Nope."

"And then there's his relatives. He is the nephew of Ezaria Joule, the Supreme Council member and his cousin is Commander Yzak Joule, well known for his very explosive temper. No girl should have to deal with either of them at sixteen."

"Ezaria may not be much of a factor. Last I heard she'd been forced off the Council and put under house arrest. And Yzak just might find Alys a bit more that even he could chew up and spit out. But even so, I don't want her doing anything stupid. One of us moving up there at a time is enough. If the attraction is still there in a few years, then they can consider it."

"Ezaria's off the Council? Since when?"

"Last week. You were still out of it when that news flash arrived. Voril spent most of the day just sitting on the fence, thinking about it. When he got off the fence he announced it was probably the best compromise they were going to come up with and hasn't said a word about it since. No one's been rude enough to bring it up again either."

"Ah."

When he didn't say anything else for a bit, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "You know, you did a nice job of redirecting the discussion there."

"Excuse me?"

"We went from talking about us to talking about Voril and Alys. Good job on changing the topic."

He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I don't know what to say about us. I don't know where we are going or where we'll end up. I just know that I can't go anywhere without you any more. I can no longer imagine a life that doesn't have you in it. If the price of that is living with your fearsome family, then somehow, I will."

"You are a perfect blockhead sometimes, you do know that right?"

He smiled. "I suppose so. What other kind of soldier falls in love with an enemy soldier?"

"I'm gonna beat your grandfather's wretched pheromones right into the ground! This is about us, damn it!"

He hugged her, then unceremoniously picked her up and set her in his lap. He laughed at her startled emerald eyes for one second, then pulled her gently against him and kissed her softly. She let it stay a gentle, sharing kiss right up until they both ran out of oxygen.

"Yes," Adrian agreed quietly when he had his breath back, "it is about us."

His hand went down to rest on the still smallish but definitely noticeable bulge in her abdomen. "And it is about them."

"Yeah." She nestled firmly against him. "Adrian, do you have a home any more? I mean besides some ZAFT barracks. Is there someplace for us to live up there?"

"Well, Mother has a small house on the Project grounds. I stayed there when I was on leave; something that happened exactly once during the whole war by the way. The place is big enough for us to stay for a month or two while we look around for someplace you are comfortable with to move to as a permanent residence. But the answer to the question is no, I don't have a home of my own. I hadn't needed one before now."

"Eh, yeah, your Mom." Kayla said slowly. "Is she at all ok with this?"

"Mother likes you." Adrian said firmly. "There aren't many people who will stand up to Grandfather. You do. Mother rather admires that. Then too, she knows the attachment between us is very real and very two sided. But mostly I think she just likes you as you."

She sat up in his lap and twisted enough to stare at him, a sharp frown on her face. "When the hell did I ever meet your Mom?"

He grinned. "You remember Serin, the Project attendant?"

"Sure! Only one of the three who would ever talk to me or . . . ." She stared harder, eyes going very, very wide. "THAT WAS YOUR MOM!"

"Doctor of Psychology Serin Chu Ito, yes. Mother is in charge of evaluating the mental and emotional stability of every individual who is brought into the Project. She's Grandfather's right hand, most of his conscience, the cool hand on the Project's purse-strings, and the keeper of all of his secrets. And she really, really likes you. She told me so at the shuttle station just before I came down here to get you. She thinks you are an excellent match for me." Adrian smiled happily.

She flopped back against him grumpily. "Your Mom's underhanded."

"Of course she is, she's a psychologist. The entire psych field is underhanded. Be glad you didn't grow up with someone that tricky."

She shot him a 'oh please' sidelong glance. "And you think having a pair of Medicine Women under the same roof with you is any better? You wanna consider trading your sneaky Mom for my sneaky Gran Spotted Horse?"

The idea jerked him to a complete stop. "Ah, no, actually I wouldn't. Your grandmothers scare me sometimes. More than my Mother does in fact. Thank you but I don't think I want to make any such trade."

"You're smarter than you look." Maria Spotted Horse told him drily.

They both jumped, looking up to find the old Medicine Woman standing by the end of the bookcase. Neither had heard her approach. Both were a bit upset by that, Adrian especially as he knew how good his hearing was.

"Are we needed somewhere?" He asked quietly.

"Nope. Just checking to make sure I could lay hands on the pair of you when you were. Dropping out of sight like this is probably a very smart idea right about now. Keeps Janet from going into some kind of idiot mother of the bride frenzy and everyone else from demanding you approve what ever tom-fool notion they've come up with. No, you just stay right here. I'll be back in a few minutes with something for you to snack on and a blanket so you can nap later if you want to. 'Cause I'm not joking about the wisdom of keeping outta sight right now."

"Gran," Kayla asked as the old woman turned to leave, "is Great-Uncle Jerome really going to come and perform the wedding? Couldn't it have been anyone else?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Oh how I wish! But this has to happen tomorrow so you have two days to get away before that Blue Cosmos lawyer bitch gets her material witness warrants out. Jerome is the only qualified minister _and_ Justice of the Peace we can both get hold of and force to do this in such an impossibly short timeframe. And it is a case of force. Your mother had to get on the phone herself and tell him directly just what she was prepared to do if he didn't cooperate. He's going to be in a very ugly mood when he gets here."

"He's always in an ugly mood. Even when he thinks he's happy, he's being ugly. I hope his God kicks his sorry ass to hell when he dies for all the abuse he's put His Name through."

Maria gave her a one-eyebrow up look. "Oh now there's a generous thought."

Kayla glared back, unrepentant. "Ya know Gran, this time I honestly don't care. This is gonna be my wedding and having him officiate is gonna wreck it! He's gonna be snide and superior and rude and who knows what else that he'll think of that'll let him think he's getting even for having to do it! I wanted to remember my wedding as a happy thing! Now it's gonna be this nightmare! No, I don't care if it's a wicked thing to say, because I mean it!"

"Kayla . . ." Maria began only to have Adrian interrupt her.

"The wedding will not be a nightmare." He said in an oddly dead voice. "I will speak to your great-uncle. He will understand the necessity of behaving himself when I'm finished. I'm sorry that I can't make it the joyous thing it should be but using fear will only take one so far. I can make him keep silent; I can not make him fake joy."

"Just what do you plan to do boy?" Maria asked flatly.

The cold amber eyes met hers bitterly. "Why, we will talk, that is all. I heard a name earlier, one that should shock him coming from me. And I will tell him nothing but the truth. Because it is true that all I would have to do to ruin him is to let his Church know that that name is known in the Plants. And once I'm back there, it will be. Only by one individual perhaps, but still, it will genuinely be known in the Plants. Even without any data attached, if the scandal was anywhere as serious as it seems, there will be evidence to find down here. And a man like that has enemies who will be only too happy to dig for it. All they will need is that one name."

The Medicine Woman studied him silently for a long moment. "If you can plan like that under this kind of personal, emotional pressure, you have a greater future in your ZAFT than you might think."

* * *

Serin looked up from the Mendel notes again to study the DNA spirals turning slowly before her. She now knew, just from the way he'd arranged them, just what it was Roland had found. And she knew something he didn't seem to have noticed yet as well.

She closed the Mendel files; she didn't need them anymore right now. In fact she spent a considerable time going through the system and making absolutely sure everything was back where she'd found it and that she removed all traces of her visits. Only the DNA files remained open. But then, everything that mattered was in those.

Her eyes watched the closest of the spirals, it happened to be Athrun Zala's, as it slowly spun the vital section past her gaze. There it was, four perfectly identical copies of a sequence that coded for four different proteins. Four brand new proteins never before identified in the human genome.

Serin could only shake her head. The genome had first been sequenced, imperfectly, at the close of the twentieth century, old calendar. It had been more carefully and fully mapped by the first quarter of the twenty-first century. But even then, some areas had not been completed. Wars and other needs had interrupted the work. And who bothered to look here, beside the sequence that coded for the proteins that would build, among other things, the appendix?

Even when the work had begun that led to the creation of Coordinators, no one bothered with this stable but pretty useless area of the genetic code. There was nothing around here to enhance that would be of any real benefit to a Coordinator. Most clinics' scanning programs would pass over this area and do no more than check for damaged code sections. She smiled a bit grimly. Some of the more sensitive might just identify this as bad code and it would be removed in the process of making a Coordinator child. She could only wonder how often that had happened and what they had lost because of it.

Serin turned and activated a completely different terminal. This linked to the computer in the private office. Much of this material was highly confidential but it was not as secret as the data stored on the lab unit. In moments she'd accessed a set of combat records Roland wasn't supposed to have.

She watched the Strike stumbling in defense of the _Archangel_ as Kira attempted to ward off the Buster and the Duel. Then something changed. His performance level jumped impossibly. In moments he'd dealt both Duel and Buster enough damage to escape them both, then raced back to the ship in time to drive off the Blitz. Another segment, not as cleanly captured on the film, showed her the Strike down on Earth in a desert environment in a night battle with several BuCUES. Once again Kira went from barely able to survive to something just short of god-like in the blink of an eye.

The last of the combat records of the Strike was one recorded by Lowe Gear in the Red Frame. And she really, really wondered just how Roland had gotten his hands on that bit of data. She was quite sure Lowe hadn't given it to him!

Lowe had come up on the battle while it had been in progress. The Strike and the Aegis were very clearly out to kill each other. The speed and power of both attack and defense was just short of unbelievable. Both pilots were clearly operating well outside the normal parameters even for Coordinators. The segment ended with the explosion of the Aegis as it was clamped tightly around the Strike.

She skipped most of the segments involving Freedom to watch the brief one of the Strike Rouge and a bit of the Justice. She did watch the climax of the battle between Kira and Rau though. As she did, she wondered if the boy was using one gift there or two. And she also wondered just how much Kira himself was aware of when this activated.

Serin turned the terminal off when the last part ended. No, it wasn't a myth. The proof was on that film. And in those spirals behind her.

She turned and eyed them again. This time she focused on the one belonging to Kira Yamato. The same perfect set of four copies of the protein master templates rotated into view, located in the same place as the set Athrun had. The Mendel sample matched this too. So did those for Cagalli and for Lacus Clyne.

These four young people, three Coordinators and one Natural, were gifted with the SEED. Any child produced using the Mendel genetics would also have it. And Roland knew it. He was planning to give that advantage to their people. Without bothering to tell them he was doing it if she knew him.

This time she could understand why. This would create a subset within the Coordinator population that was truly gifted beyond the norm. It ran a very real risk of breaking them apart. Sooner or later someone with a big mouth was going to discover what was happening. But she knew Roland was hoping that could be put off for a couple generations, until the genes were widespread enough that just about everyone could expect to have the gift available to their children.

But had he noticed the other gift here? The one that came from the De Flaga line? The one Hibiki had so clearly lifted whole and grafted into his Ultimate Coordinator program? Because if he used these Mendel genetics he was going to be passing that one into the general Coordinator population too.

Serin pulled the spirals for Kira, one of the Mendel's, someone named Canard Pars, Rau Le Creuset, Mu La Flaga, and another unknown called Prayer Reverie to the front of the desk. She could only speculate on how Roland had come by some of these but she suspected he'd been busier on that trip on the _Kusanagi_ than she'd known. She did know he'd spent at least one day aboard the _Archangel_ itself comparing data with them when they got back. He probably got hold of something from La Flaga there. If there were likely to be physical mementos anywhere, it would be among that crew.

What these told her was just fascinating. She'd known Rau and Mu were related of course. But where did this Prayer Reverie come into the family? Pity the data was incomplete. It looked like he might be a clone but it was impossible to be sure or to tell of who if he was. But all three of them had the same mutation in the same location. Prayer had a double copy.

Kira, the Mendel sample and this Pars individual had the identical mutation but it was clearly grafted in to a different gene altogether. Like the data for Reverie, what Roland had for Canard Pars was incomplete. But what was there was enough to tell Serin that this was probably one of the 'failed' Ultimate Coordinators. He was definitely quite closely related to Kira but too much was missing to tell just how closely.

A check of random samples from other Project candidates had turned up single or double copies of the SEED factor in over sixty percent of them. So it wasn't rare at all. What was rare was having the four copies that let it be expressed. The prevalence of double copies suggested that it was beginning to ramp up in the general population. It might already be widespread enough to be past stopping. And wouldn't that give Blue Cosmos a kick in the nose? Them and their blue and pure world where human beings had stopped evolving, frozen into their imagined perfection for all time. Ha!

Too bad the La Flaga gift wasn't showing up like that too. But it had only turned up in one of her random checks. So that honestly was rare.

She brought up two more spirals. One was Adrian's, the other Kayla's. Both of them had almost made the elite club, they each had three copies of the new protein codes that she was sure was the heart of the SEED factor. Since both were missing different copies, there was a strong chance their children would have it without any tinkering on anyone's part. Kayla carried the same gift as the La Flaga line. Serin was quite aware the gift came from Mu's father but she wasn't about to name anything that was likely to have a lasting place in medical literature after _that_ man. Adrian had nothing in his code that was likely to block it so that might pass cleanly to the children as well.

Serin didn't know all of what either gift would do but she did know the SEED would make a huge difference to anyone in a situation of high danger, like combat was. The La Flaga trait had to be the spatial awareness the Hawk had been so famous for. Hibiki wouldn't have bothered to lift any lesser gift. It was the ability that let him fly and fully utilize his Moebius Zero. Kayla had also flown and utilized the abilities of the Zero, so she had to have that same kind of spatial awareness, which was why Serin was so sure she knew what those genes did. Combine that with the combat gifts of the SEED and you'd have a formidable warrior indeed. Or, she thought wistfully, if the peace held perhaps they would be explorers instead.

Either way, her grandchildren promised to be something unusual and special. She quietly turned all the DNA files off and shut the computer down. How much could they be raised George Glen's way and how much would they have to be raised their great-grandfather's she wondered? Coordinators weren't any more immune to jealousy than Naturals were after all. She didn't know. And she wasn't going to until they arrived and she'd had a chance to do an analysis on what they'd actually gotten in their toss of the dice in the game of natural selection.

At least she knew what Roland was trying to hide this time. And she was going to force him to talk about it. She wasn't sure if adding SEED genetics to their population was a good idea or not. She knew she'd have a better feel for that if she argued it out with Roland for a bit. And he'd have a better feel for it too, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

She checked the time and was shocked to see she'd been in the lab almost seven hours. Thank goodness it was her official day off! She made one final sweep of the desk area to be sure nothing was out of place and left.

Once in the outer office, several things she'd not noticed in her single minded focus began to demand her attention. Simple things, like thirst, and a need for a restroom stop. Oh, and hunger was climbing the list to claim a fairly high importance too.

She dealt with the restroom necessity and got a very long drink first. Only then could she properly organize her mind to consider the rest of her priorities. She decided hunger could wait. There had been no message from Aube yesterday. She would check for that first and worry about food second.

But there was no message again this day. Only a brief note from Kira saying he wasn't getting any data from Colorado at the moment. Serin stared at it, suddenly sure something was going wrong, horribly, horribly, wrong.

* * *


	46. Chapter 46

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will get you ignored.)

Well, this was supposed to include the actual wedding. Somehow things just didn't get that far. But, they will!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

Adrian stood at parade rest in the living room of the Grayhawk home waiting for everyone to sort themselves out so he could get married under Atlantic Federation law. It was a wonderful irony, one he fully intended to enjoy. Kayla was somewhere else, out of his sight in accordance with some superstition against the groom seeing the bride before the ceremony was ready to start.

The table had been taken out of the dining room and chairs set up in the opened space. The blank-faced Reverend Spotted Horse stood stiffly beside a small table pushed up against the wall. Adrian knew the man was furious but it hardly mattered. He was behaving himself, nothing else counted.

Howard had met the Reverend Jerome at the door. Whatever they discussed wiped the oily smile off the man's face. Janet got to him just as soon as he'd hung his coat up. He came out of that talk with a cold frown and a small packet he immediately put in his pocket. His oldest sister and Charlie Yellow Dog nailed him next. By the time the three way chat ended he was white with rage but his jaw had been clenched shut. Then and only then had Adrian walked up to him. The sight of a ZAFT soldier in full, formal dress reds had bleached what little color the man had left.

Their conversation had been short and brutal. Adrian hadn't given him time to call him names before he'd invoked the magic of the Hasslehoff name. It bought him the silence he'd expected it to. He'd stated his terms and left it at that, knowing the man had no trust in his word of honor at all. But he also knew that the man was aware that there was the rest of the Grayhawk family to consider so there might be some truth to a 'space monster's pledge' this time.

Adrian just let him stew. There was nothing more he could do. Any more action here would tip things the wrong way now.

"Ya shouldn't stare at the garbage. It'll only make it stink faster."

Adrian turned to find Charlie Yellow Dog had managed to come up on him with out being noticed. What was it with these shaman and medicine women that they could do this to him? They were making him nervous, damn it!

"This garbage stank long before it got here." He replied irritably.

"Ya got a point there." Charlie conceded. "Now, ya wanna bend down here a bit? I got yer warrior's gear for ya."

"Excuse me? What warrior's gear? I have my uniform, that's all I need."

Charlie gave him a look that should have splintered the wall behind him. Adrian was unmoved. He was a soldier of the ZAFT. He was wearing his own uniform, freshly cleaned for him by Janet Grayhawk and the boots polished to a brilliant gloss by his own hand, and nothing else. He turned away.

The ancient woman standing behind him was transparent, stooped through the shoulders, and far taller than he was. She leaned on her magnificently carved stick and eyed him reproachfully. Adrian could feel his eyes widening.

"Grandmother of Bears?" He whispered.

She nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am!" He almost saluted her.

Amusement flashed in her _very_ old eyes. She smiled. As she did, she faded from his sight. He slowly turned back to the waiting shaman, more than a little stunned.

"Ya done arguing?"

"Yes." Adrian admitted unhappily. "What is this 'gear' you want me to put on?"

"Bend down here." The much shorter old man ordered imperiously.

He obeyed. Charlie lifted a heavy necklace off the seat of a nearby chair and put it over his head. He stayed quite still as the old man arranged it across his shoulders. Only when he was satisfied did Adrian stand up again. Even then, Charlie tweaked the way it was laying on the breast of the red uniform several times before he was content with the look.

He couldn't see it as well as he would have liked to looking down on it, but it definitely was a weighty piece of work! Three rows of silver beads the size of local pennies connected a set of five stylized flowers to either side of the necklace. The flowers had large, nearly flawless sky blue turquoise stones set at the points where the lines of beads met them. A massive, three-quarters circle made of a base of three bands of silver set with even more of these amazing stones hung from the center. It was a magnificent work of art. It looked impossibly out of place on the front of a ZAFT uniform.

"Well, that works better 'an I thought it would. The blue and silver shows right nice against that red and black. Here, hold this end of the belt."

Adrian found a massive piece of worked metal shoved into his hand. He grabbed it just before it could slip away to the floor. He wanted to protest that he had a belt on already but he didn't bother. It obviously didn't matter to Charlie as he swung an appallingly heavy piece of metalwork around his waist.

The old man took the heavy piece out of his hand and fastened it with a soft click. Adrian looked down again. He lifted his knee a bit to let him see past the necklace to the free hanging end pieces. It seemed he was wearing a set of heavily decorated silver plaques lavishly set with yet more of that fine turquoise. The individual, highly decorated plaques were about the length of his hand and about half that wide. They were connected to each other with chased work pieces shaped like squashed figure eights. The belt must have been made for someone of considerably greater mass as five of those ovals hung down the front of his tunic's skirt. He couldn't be sure from this top view but they might reach all the way to the point at the bottom of the center front.

"We got lucky. It fits over yer uniform belt snug enough to stay up and not so tight that it's pinchin' anythin'. That's good boy 'cause ya got no hips and no ass to hold it up other wise."

"Is that supposed to be some kind of compliment?"

"Nah, just a observation. Stick an arm out here an' lets see how the bracelets fit."

"Over or under my sleeves?"

"Gonna hafta be over or they won't show, now will they, eh? Now, gimme an arm will ya?"

With a silent sigh, Adrian obeyed again. The bracelet proved to be yet another massive piece of silverwork, heavily set with thumbnail sized cabochons of the same turquoise as the necklace and the belt. It too had a heavily worked background. But there was also considerable open space in the patterns as well, letting the black of the deep cuff show through and display the piece itself to near perfection.

Charlie carefully worked the open backed bracelet over the cuff, somewhat crushing it under the metalwork. Adrian mentally cringed but kept his mouth shut. The uniform wouldn't be permanently damaged after all. When the old man was done, he was wearing a matched set that rode from just above his wrists to half way to his elbows and weighted his hands down to his sides.

"Are we done?" Adrian asked hesitantly.

"Only if the ring don't fit." He held up a circular monster that would cover a finger from first knuckle to the tendon dimple in the back of the hand and the finger to either side as well. A dozen of the now familiar turquoise surrounded a larger central stone. Unlike any of the other pieces, this one had no other decoration than the set stones themselves.

"Goes on the right hand." The old man added helpfully.

Captain Ito gave the shaman a very dirty look. Charlie just grinned at him. Adrian realized this old goat, Kayla's description of his grandfather applied even better to this antique annoyance, was having a wonderful time driving him up a wall. Unfortunately, the goat was the one in charge at the moment. Promising himself he'd get even somehow, he took the ring and tried it on. It was a bit loose once over the knuckle but it wasn't going to fall off. He was obviously going to be stuck wearing this too.

The old man stepped back and looked him over. One silver eyebrow rose as Adrian stood at something very close to attention in front of him. Then he nodded in slow approval.

"It looks real strange over that uniform of yers boy but once ya get past that damn if it don't suit ya. I thought Golden Eagle was crazy when he picked out all these pieces for ya back when Kayla stopped at my place. I should know by now that the Spirits don't make that kinda mistake." He waved toward the hall. "There's good light an' a full mirror out there. Ya just go an' have a look-see for yerself."

Curious, Adrian took him up on that. The mirror in question was mounted on the wall opposite the front door. Kayla had told him her great-great-grandmother had put it up so she could be sure she looked her best on her way to county board meetings. Whatever the reason, it was handy now.

He marched almost to the door before he turned to look. He wanted to be sure he could really get the full effect of this, . . . this, this _costume_ hung over his uniform. He needed to know immediately if this was going to be a disaster. Charlie's opinion was biased and cared nothing for the dignity or honor of the ZAFT; he couldn't trust it. He paused, took one deep breath, and turned around.

He stared at the reflected image, his eyes slowly widening. This should have been ridiculous. The heavily gemmed and decorated jewelry should have come off as a joke.

Instead, it came off as armor, a warrior's armor. He had been transformed into a soldier of two cultures – and two vastly different times. Antiquity overlaid the space age, and the effect was literally stunning.

"_There have always been warriors."_ Golden Eagle said thoughtfully. _"There are those who cry out against warriors. Yet those peoples who have cast their warriors aside have been swept aside themselves. One wonders at the folly of never learning from this unchanging experience." _

He paused, then added, _"Warriors also come in many guises. The greatest of heart are those who stand to protect. Such do not begin wars but they _do_ finish them. You and Soaring Hawk Woman are such warriors. It is fitting you should be seen for what you are on your mating day."_

Adrian's head had snapped around to find the transparent form of the nearly two meter bird standing at his right hand. The beak opened in unmistakable avian laughter.

"_Did you think I would not come to such an important event in your life? What kind of Spirit Guide would I be if I should not attend your mating?"_

"It's called a _wedding_, not a mating!"

"_Ah, is this so?"_ The amusement in the Spirit's eye was almost frightening; he'd never imagined they had a sense of humor. _"Perhaps this is because the eaglets are already coming?"_

"Could you laugh at me some other time? I'm just a bit wound up right now." He hissed.

The fierce golden eyes were suddenly sober. _"You are not standing alone. Nor will you travel alone when you leave this house. You have made friends on this world Eagle's Heart, more than you know. And not all of them were made on this trip. There will be aid in places none could be expected. The honor of the Thoms Team is known further than you might dream. But that is for tomorrow. For today, the shaman has one more thing for you. Accept it with what grace you can muster for it was made by many with love and care. If you take it as it was made, it will be powerful indeed."_

He blinked in surprise. And in the instant of darkness during that blink, Golden Eagle vanished because he wasn't there when Adrian opened his eyes again. He blinked several more times but it didn't bring him back to explain anything.

"Visitor?" Charlie's voice came drily.

"Yes!" Adrian snapped.

"Lemme guess, ya got handed advice and information that only half makes sense an' the damn bugger vanished on ya afore ya could ask a single question."

The frustrated and rather over-wound pilot just glared at the placid old man. "Of course! Isn't that what your stories say they always do? I don't know why your heroes didn't smack them flat."

"Ya ever tried hittin' somethin' that ain't really there? Spinnin' yerself like a top is about all yer gonna accomplish. Well, that an' givin' 'em a good laugh. Ya wanna entertain the Spirit World, be my guest. But yer gonna be late to yer own wedding if ya do."

Adrian gave him a sharp look. "Sometimes I wonder about you."

"Do ya now." The old man clearly wasn't troubled by the thought.

"Yes, among other things, the occasional variations in your diction are fascinating."

Charlie declined the bait, simply grinning toothlessly at him instead. But there was a wickedly sharp look in his eyes that told Adrian they would continue this conversation at some future date. What was this strange old fossil? He had very casual and imprecise diction most of the time but every now and again he'd pronounce a word or phrase with the clarity of a university professor.

"Ya can analyze me later. I got the last thing for yer weddin' finery ta get tacked on ya."

"I'm not a horse. I do not wear tack."

"Ya ain't no bird neither but yer gonna be wearin feathers. Now get over here an' sit down!"

He almost said no. But that last comment of Golden Eagle's, about accepting something that had been made with love stopped him. Instead he went and sat as directed. Charlie came up on his right hand carrying a neat packet wrapped in white tissue.

"This is a charm." The shaman told him, a flatly serious note in his voice. "I ain't gonna tell ya who made each piece but I will say they've all met ya and they all liked ya enough to put out a real effort to help make sure ya make it home. I'm gonna braid this into yer hair and ya'll leave it there 'till yer back in yer Plants, ya hear?"

He looked gravely at the packet. "Tell me, Charlie, is this aid being offered to Voril and Yuri too? Because I can't accept it if they aren't also considered worth defending. It would mean it was only about protecting the guy their girl was irrationally attached to. That those other strangers weren't worth it. I won't take this if it means that."

"Yer still stuck in the war; still seein' everythin' in Coordinators against Naturals." He said reprovingly. "That ain't what this is for. It's for you, the boy they've come to like. An' yes, just so's ya don't pop a cork, there's one each for the others too. But they weren't made just to keep things even. They were made because those kids are also valued, have become friends worth defending. They were made because the people called Adrian Ito, Voril Joule, and Yuri Lubbek are recognized as just that, people."

Adrian looked down, suddenly ashamed. "I'm sorry. That was very rude and I shouldn't have said it."

"Like I said, yer still somewhat stuck in the war. Yer gonna be a bit deprogramin'. Nobody goes through something as vicious and intense as this little war was an' comes out all smilin' and well adjusted the instant its over. Truth be told, the three of ya are amazingly stable given all ya been through. But then, the three of ya are damn decent people an' believe it or not, that helps. Ya just got ta remember to give it that half second of thought before ya let yer mouth open for a while yet until the worst of the war damage heals."

As he finished speaking, Charlie flipped the tissue packet open. Adrian eyed what lay there with somewhat doubtful curiosity. There were five red/brown/bronze feathers, the colors looked natural, all just a bit longer than his index finger and all tightly formed like miniature flight primaries. Each shaft was covered in a different tubular pattern of tiny beads. The tube sections had two short bead hangers that attached the feather to a length much heavier, highly decorative beads. The five were set to hang at slightly different lengths. Taken as a piece of art, it was actually rather beautiful. Taken as something he was going to have tied to his hair until he got home, that was something else.

"A charm? For what?" He asked slowly.

"Try 'protection'." Charlie offered the obvious wearily.

Protection, eh? Well, Eagle had said if he accepted it as it was offered it would be powerful. There was a time not many weeks ago when he'd have laughed at that idea. But then, he'd have laughed at the idea of the Spirits then too. He stared at the 'charm'. If he could accept something as impossible as two meter tall eagles that he could see through AND that could talk to him, what was the hold-up with a feather charm made by friends to help him?

"Please tell everyone who made these thank you for me. I will be, well, honestly somewhat embarrassed to wear it because we just don't do things like this in the Plants, but I will be honored too that I have Natural friends on Earth who would do this for me."

The ancient shaman's dark eyes studied him. "Ya know Ito, the word 'boy' isn't gonna describe ya much longer. It ain't really adequate anymore now."

"Thank you sir."

Adrian sat like a stone as the shaman braided the protective talisman into his hair, making sure it fell just in front of his right ear. When he was done, Adrian went back to the hall to take a look at the final effect. Rather to his surprise, the feather piece somehow completed the whole. The ZAFT uniform provided a solid base for the antique jewelry. The feathers on the right and the lack on the left of his face balanced the dichotomy of the uniform and jewelry below. The sum total was harmonious in a way he'd never expected. And he remained unmistakably a soldier of two cultures and times.

"Yep, she snatched herself a real good one when she decided ya were the boy she wanted." Charlie said quietly. "An' ya did right good by yerself too when ya had the sense not to let her get away."

"It wasn't possible to 'let her get away.' It would have destroyed me in a week to have tried it."

"Well then, I guess yer ready as yer ever gonna be. Lets go, Howard just waved from the dining room. Looks like all they need now is the bride and groom."

Adrian turned, suddenly utterly calm. He marched across the room unhurriedly. It was the right time, he _was_ ready.

* * *

Kayla sat on her bed in her bathrobe and grimly watched every other female in the house, except her oldest sister, paw through her closet and drawers trying to find something that could be substituted for a wedding dress. What they were finding out was something she'd discovered a month ago; she'd outgrown most of the things she'd left behind when she'd enlisted and she was just that much too pregnant to fit in her uniforms. The barely sixteen year-old who'd gone off to war had been a skinny, rangy thing. The soldier who came home at almost eighteen was nearly three inches taller, had filled out and put on a decided amount of muscle. Even if she hadn't been expecting, very little that had been stored here would have fit. And all of that was already sealed up in boxes ready to ship to Aube; a small fact she had no intention of mentioning as she didn't want to have to pack them all over again when everyone finally decided there was nothing suitable in them either.

"I take it the hunt is turning up no prey." Maria muttered in her ear as she leaned against the tall footboard of the bed.

"Zero, zip, nada." Kayla agreed irritably.

"Do you have anything you'd like to wear?"

She sighed. "Actually, since I know Adrian will insist on wearing his uniform, I'd actually like to wear mine. The symbolism would be both proper and balanced that way. Trouble is, it doesn't fit."

"Interesting option." Her sister said approvingly. "You're growing up, Kayla, in a lot of ways. Wasn't all that long ago when you might have made the same choice but the reasons wouldn't have had a thing to do with balance or understanding that symbolism matters at moments like this. You two are really too young to be starting a family, teen parents have a terrible record both for staying together themselves and for raising mentally and physically healthy kids. But I think the pair of you may beat the odds. You're neither one of you spoiled brats or personally arrogant or power hungry or any of a dozen other negative things that would doom such a 'opposites attracting' marriage. You do care deeply about each other, about these children you have coming, and about the peace that's being hammered out between our peoples. And you respect each other's people. Yes, I do think you'll be a real exception to the rule."

"Thanks." She said quietly. "I'm betting everything I have and am on this Maria. If we fail, I have no place to go. The Plants won't want me to stay there and there won't be any safe place to come back to down here. Sometimes, when I think about it too hard, I really get cold chills."

"Kayla, look at me." The General said firmly.

She turned and met the bronze eyes in puzzlement. "What?"

"You will have a place." General Grayhawk told her in a voice that brooked no doubt. "Under Plant law, as the mother of Coordinator children, you can not be denied residence there or the right to see them unless you are convicted of one of a set of specific crimes, most of them things we'd take the kids away for down here. So if by some shocking fluke, the pair of you do split, you will be entitled to stay where your children are. Moreover, Adrian will be obliged to help you get set up in a situation where you can earn a living and have a place to live. They don't seem to have alimony up there, they seem to feel any Coordinator worthy of the name should be able to support his or her self, but they do grasp that the non-working partner in a marriage gone south will need help to get started. So do not let that worry you."

She eyed Maria carefully. "This straight data or are you being 'encouraging' again?"

"No, it's straight data." The General replied immediately.

She sat back, suddenly almost weightless. Wow, had she really been that scared about something so unlikely? From the nearly giddy feeling in her head, yeah, she had. Huh, guess you never knew what was really digging into you until it stopped! She let herself float happily on the euphoria, insulated for the moment from the rising frustration of her mother and other sisters at not finding anything suitable in her wardrobe.

All good things end though and this lasted less time than most. The bubble of relief held up maybe five minutes before her mother slammed the last dresser drawer shut with a sharp bang. The loud noise, and the anger behind it, popped the bubble and brought her back down into the real world with a hard mental thump.

"This is impossible!" Janet Grayhawk snarled. "There has to be _something_ presentable in this house my daughter can wear to get married in!"

She turned to the others in the room. "Mother, you and I will tackle the attic. Crystal, I want you and Alys to go through that monstrosity you call a room and see what you might have that could possibly do. You're just that bit more, uhm, lushly built. I know some of your things will fit Kayla even now."

"You mean I have a full figure and Kayla isn't quite up to that standard maybe?" Crystal asked dangerously.

"She means shut up and go look." Gran Spotted Horse said even more dangerously. "We are all on a deadline here. I don't have time to smooth over problems caused by verbal errors. Just be cooperative for this once."

"Maria," The formidable old woman turned to her namesake grandchild. "I want you to stay with Kayla and keep the boys out. If there is going to be any food after this ceremony, I have to get down to the kitchen right now. Since everybody else knows what they're supposed to be doing, I suggest they get to it!"

"Crystal, I want you . . ." Janet began.

"The girl knows what you want, Janet." First Kay cut her off. "Now come, you want my help in the attic, you stop wasting time on useless instructions and lets go."

The old woman nearly towed her daughter out of the room. Crystal and Alys hurried after them when Gran snorted at them both for lingering. Gran was the last one out. She firmly closed the door behind her, making it clear to everyone who heard it shut that no one was welcome to open it without permission.

"Oh great! I can't wait to see what kind of horror Crystal hauls out of the bowels of her closet or memento of Sandy Mom and First Kay find in the attic!"

"You and Crystal share nothing in taste in clothes." Maria agreed calmly. "And I honestly don't think you will be happy in anything of Sandy's, not to wear while marrying a ZAFT officer anyhow."

"What does that leave us?"

"My collection." Maria replied as she headed for the closet. "Do you remember how to open the 'secret door' between your closet and mine from this side?"

"Your collection?" Kayla asked as she followed her sister. "Your collection of what?"

"Uniforms." Maria answered shortly.

"Huh?"

"The door?"

"Oh, yeah, push on the third knot from the left in the middle of the biggest board."

Maria followed the instruction and a rather narrow panel swung inward. She reached in and turned on the lights in her closet, a much larger space than the one they were standing in. The pair of them slipped through the doorway and Maria shut it behind them.

Kayla looked around her. Boxes were stacked neatly on the shelves, dozens of them. Four uniforms and about five feet of civilian clothing hung near the front of the ample room. Field boots, office shoes, dress shoes and civilian shoes ranging from riding boots to dance slippers were lined up neatly below the clothing. There was nothing else in the closet besides a rolling stepladder.

"What in the world do you have in here?" Kayla asked, eyeing the cryptic label on a nearby box in confusion.

"All my civvies that I don't have any immediate use for and my uniform collection." Maria replied. "And before you ask, I've been picking up uniforms, ours and ZAFT's that have turned up on bases after the fighting. I only take ones in perfect condition that don't have a readily identifiable owner. Uniforms change over time. These are going to be historic records someday. But at the moment, one of them just might do as a substitute for a wedding dress."

"What, you got an EA Air Wing Captain's uniform for a pregnant woman? They make those?"

Maria, half way up the rolling stepladder, turned and stared down at her with a very disgusted look. "No, stupid, I have one that should be a standard petite in a size that would normally be half larger than you would wear. But because it's a petite it's cut differently from a regular woman's style and because it's half size up, it should fit. Now plug in your brain before you open your mouth will you?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say."

"Brides, brain-fried, every last one of 'em." Maria muttered loud enough to be clearly heard as she pulled a box out of the neat stacks.

"I can hear you, you do know that right?"

"You are supposed to. You are supposed to get irritated enough to start thinking again. Or at least that is my fond hope. What is it about weddings that short-circuits even the smartest women's minds?"

"Call it cultural operant conditioning and let it go at that." Kayla advised. "You aren't gonna get anywhere grousing about it."

"I suppose not." The General agreed wearily as she climbed down off the ladder with the box in hand. "Come on, let's see if I've guessed right."

"Just what kind of uniform did you have in mind?" Kayla asked as she followed her sister into her militarily tidy bedroom.

"Full dress of course. Nothing else will do with Ito wearing his dress reds." She shook her head. "He was an idiot to bring those down here. I understand the motivation of course but that doesn't make the decision to actually do it anything but stupid. And those two fool friends of his are no brighter either. If anyone had actually looked in their baggage, they'd be dead by now and they wouldn't have died easily or without telling our people everything they wanted to know. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And all because Ito has too much 'honor' to lie to his girl's family. Sometimes, honor is a liability one should think seriously about leaving up in the Plants when planning reckless trips to Earth."

"Pop wouldn't have had half the respect for him if he had." Kayla pointed out quietly.

Her sister gave her a very dry look. "Pop is a guy, sis. He'd have been dumb enough to have taken _his_ uniform to the Plants to fetch Mom if the situations had been reversed."

Kayla shrugged. "Ya gotta balance risk against risk. I'll admit Adrian probably wasn't thinking as clearly as normal but I know he had Pop's reactions in mind when he decided to bring it. Guys do guy things Maria. Even I've figured out that isn't gonna change any time soon."

"Point noted." Maria conceded as she opened the box and lifted the uniform inside out to set it on the bed. "It still doesn't improve the intelligence level of the move though. Here, try it on."

She dropped her bathrobe on the bed and took the blouse her sister held out. One touch told her this was not simply a full dress set but one special made for someone with too much influence and a liking for serious luxury. The ice white blouse wasn't the usual treated cotton, it was butter soft and very heavy silk. It probably would have run a full month's pay at her old Lieutenant's scale to buy the civilian equivalent and it settled across her skin like a lover's caress. Even better, it fit just like Maria had expected.

Warned by the quality of the blouse, she was only mildly shocked to find the almost eye-damagingly white skirt was a weighty and genuine suede. What did startle her was to discover it was one of the rare evening length dress skirts that fell almost to the toes of her shoes. These were only supposed to be made for four star officers! And at the moment, Kayla couldn't remember if there even _were_ any women of that rank right now!

As she accepted the matching jacket, the same fine suede as the skirt only having the intensely colored sections of a full dress uniform instead of being pure white, she couldn't help asking, "Where did you get this? Who did it belong to? Aren't you gonna be in trouble for taking it?"

Maria looked at her coolly. "I might if someone ever happens to mention I have it. As far as I know, it was not actually assigned to anyone. It turned up in the back of a wrecked warehouse at Josh-A. It was neatly boxed and labeled just like any standard uniform. I have some thoughts on that warehouse as I found several interesting items on that section of shelving, most of which are in the closet right now. I'd have taken them all if some idiot hadn't tripped over some wires and started a fire that destroyed most of what was left of that end of the base."

"Riiiiiight." Kayla drawled. "That idiot may have done you a real favor you know."

"Only by accident." The General replied grimly. "He was an agent for Blue Cosmos and the fire itself was not a mistake. There was some evidence they needed ruined."

Kayla looked at the jacket she was holding and grinned evilly. "Well you know what they say about ill winds and all that. At least the bastards were somewhat useful for once."

"You have something there. Now try it on please."

She slipped it on and fastened it. It fit fairly well. Whoever it had been made for, and she was very sure it was a special and specific commission, was heavier through the chest than she was but not by enough to ruin the look. They were thicker through the waist too but the advancing pregnancy filled that almost perfectly. A look at the reflection in the mirror on the back of the door showed her a striking image. The full dress uniform really did flatter her.

"Now that is something fit and proper to wear to your wedding to a ZAFT Elite." Maria nodded in satisfaction. "You're as much a soldier as he is, Kayla, and you should never let yourself forget that. This is much more a marriage of equals than most are. I doubt your Adrian needs the reminder but there are a couple members of this family that do. There's been some really silly talk, in corners where everyone was sure you wouldn't hear it, about how helpless you were going to be up there in the Plants. Some folks need to remember that you are the _Tomahawk_, the only other Moebius Zero pilot besides the Hawk of Endymion ZAFT truly feared."

"I hate that stupid name!"

Her sister gave her a level eyed stare. "Hate it or love it, makes no difference. It's yours kiddo and it's a valuable lever if you use it correctly. I have no doubts about Ito's feelings for you but he's only one man and he's just a Captain at that. There will be others up there with long memories and bitter hearts who will not be happy to see any Natural in their space. Wielded properly, the title 'Tomahawk' can be sword, shield, stiletto, and olive branch all in one. No, you keep your despite for the name to yourself from now on. You can't afford to throw that kind of power away carelessly, not where you're going. The most you can manage is to gracefully suggest that your name now is Ito and you hope never to need to be the Tomahawk again. But you must never, ever, give some mindsets the idea that you have abandoned your past, that you could not return to the battlefield if the need was great enough. In fact, I suggest that soon as you get settled in, you get back in that GINN trainer and stay with it until you honestly can handle one in a real fight. There are levels of ability that command respect. For you, being genuinely competent with their unmodified equipment will force even the bitterest denier to admit you have to be considered someone to be reckoned with. And as a Natural in the Plants, you will need all the respect you can command, for your own safety, for Adrian's career, and for the safety and future of the kids."

"That's good advice Kayla. I'd take it if I were you." Gran Spotted Horse said quietly from where she was standing in the middle of the closet. "The uniform is a real bit of inspiration on your part Maria. She looks wonderful. And she looks old enough to be doing this too."

Kayla just nodded. She couldn't argue with anything Maria had said. It fit too well with too much of her own thinking and worrying. Adrian had said he'd protect her but he couldn't be with her twenty-four seven, not if he planned to stay in the ZAFT. So she was going to have to protect herself. And much as she hated to admit it, the Tomahawk name wouldn't hurt that effort.

"You two want to get back here into Kayla's room? I have some things that will be going with that outfit."

She gathered up the discarded bathrobe, hiked up the skirt and carefully slipped back through the narrow panel into her own closet. She hung the bathrobe on the back of the closet door on her way out. She found all the females of the house back in her room. How had they known she'd found something to wear?

"Ooooh!" Alys exclaimed. "I like that! You look great!"

"She's going to look even better." Her mother said calmly, motioning toward a tall stool sitting out from the dresser by enough to let people work all around whoever sat on it.

Kayla knew better than to argue about anything now. She sat obediently. At once First Kay began to brush out her hair and her mother set about getting her makeup on. After wrapping her in an old sheet to protect her clothes of course! She felt like a stuffed doll, opening and closing her eyes and lips on order as various layers of color were applied. All the while that was going on, her grandmother was doing something with the hair around her face.

Eventually everyone finished. When they stepped back, Gran stepped forward. She had a small packet wrapped in tissue paper in her hand and a very serious expression on her face. When she opened it, Kayla found herself looking at five of the smaller flight feathers from the wing of a red tailed hawk. They were roughly the length of her index finger, the shafts delicately beaded in patterned peyote stitch, each one different. They had paired bead hangers that went to heavier beads that were strung in an unmistakable Medicine pattern. They were set together in a manner to allow the feathers to fall to different lengths.

"This will do what?" She asked quietly.

"Protect." Gran replied. "Each was made by a different friend of yours. I will braid this into your hair now and you will leave it there until you reach the Plants."

It was a gift that had no price. Moreover, it was the nature of this kind of ward to be anonymous. She would never know who had done this for her. She blinked very hard, fighting not to cry. Mom would never forgive her if she wrecked the makeup job she'd just finished. All she could do was nod in thanks. But Gran saw, and Gran would tell those who should be told how their gift was received.

Once the charm was in place, First Kay finished whatever it was she was doing with her hair. The room had gotten a lot quieter. At some point, everyone but her grandmothers had left to get dressed themselves.

"So, now you are properly dressed as the soldier of the North Atlantic Federation. But you are more than that. And you should also be dressed for that as well." First Kay said quietly.

She turned to find the box she'd been given by Charlie Yellow Dog was now sitting open on her bed. Gran was lifting something out of it. First Kay suddenly reached around and lifted her hair away from her shoulders.

Even from the back of the piece she could tell what it was. Her eyes opened wide as they could go. Where had this come from? Nobody did this kind of work any more!

Then Gran was fastening it around her neck, adjusting it across her shoulders, settling the central pendent just so. Kayla stared down at it. It was a huge squash blossom necklace made of tiny, individually closely set, sky blue turquoise that formed the five flowers that faced out to each side and the three bands that connected them as well as the great horseshoe of the center pendent, all mounted in polished silver.

As she stared at the necklace, she realized Gran had a belt to go with it. The same style of tiny, double pointed stones set in almost mosaic patterns was used in the palm size conchos of the belt. These were sun wheels with layered rays spinning out from the center stone, connected to each other by fastener pieces shaped like waxing and waning moons.

Matching bracelets in the same style boasted three sun wheels of progressively smaller size marching up her arm, a minor pair forming the side bands. A sun wheel with a dependent squash blossom formed the earrings while a single wheel made up the ring that completed the set.

Only when everything was in place to her grandmother's satisfaction was she allowed to turn to the mirror to see the results. The makeup hadn't added age so much as regal dignity. And what First Kay had done with her hair was frame her face with a braid edge that kept the stray ends out of her eyes before pulling the ends back and catching them at the back of her head. This contained her hair's tendency to fall forward but left it free to tumble down her shoulders and back. The protection charm hung freely by her right ear, just above the new earring. But that wasn't what mattered.

She did not recognize the woman in the reflection. And that was what she was, a woman, not the seventeen year old girl Kayla was used to seeing in the mirror. This woman was a warrior, one who knew quite well who she was and what she was worth. This woman looked on her world with clear eyes and made her choices understanding what she would face from them. And as her clothing and jewelry so vividly made plain, she lived in the present without discarding the past. None of the uncertainties that plagued one Kayla Grayhawk had ever bothered this woman.

"Who is this?" Kayla whispered as she stared into the mirror.

"_This is Soaring Hawk Woman_." Red Tailed Hawk replied calmly. "_You have never seen her before because you have never let yourself look. This is Eagle's Heart's mate. She is the one you call on in battle to survive and in peace to make wise choices. She is the essence of you_."

"Me? Are you nuts?" She asked the Spirit in shock. "When was I ever someone that calm, that strong?"

"_You have always been that person. You simply do not see it. You only see yourself from the inside. Someday, you should try looking at yourself through the eyes of another. You will be amazed at what you find_." The shoulder tall bird was laughing at her.

"That's really me?"

"_Yes_." Hawk replied gently. "_And this is how Eagle's Heart sees you_."

Kayla stared at the mirror. "Adrian sees me like _this_?"

"_Yes, because he sees what is truly there. You will fly high together_."

She turned and grinned at the Hawk. "I guess so. The Plants _are_ pretty high up there."

The Spirit gave her a gape-beaked avian grin back. "_Oh, you will fly higher than that. You are a Hawk's Daughter who has chosen to mate with an Eagle's Son. Such a pairing must either crash to the earth or soar to the top of the skies. You will soar!_"

"Thank you."

The Spirit faded. But before it was quite gone, it winked at her. Kayla grinned back at it. She turned away from the mirror, not needing it any more. Her heart was light for the first time in weeks really. When Gran waved impatiently at her from the door, she headed over with a long, swinging stride. She was going to marry Adrian Ito and she was going to do it now.

* * *


	47. Chapter 47

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will still get you ignored.)

No, I am not dead. Yes I do intend to finish the story. It is not my fault that Kayla and Adrian decided to take off on the honeymoon without inviting the author along. Took them forever to come back too. In the mean time, I have been working on something else that would at least TALK to me. So, since my attention is now divided, updates may not be quick but they should happen at something considerably less than about six month intervals.

This covers the wedding and the departure from the Double Hawk Ranch.

The other story, a SEED/WING crossover, will not see any publication until it is AT LEAST two thirds completed. I'm not putting readers or myself through this again!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

"Voril, why did you bring those? They're only going to be ruined." Yuri asked quietly as the four of them sat in the back of the badly sprung truck that was speeding them as quickly as the deteriorating road allowed towards someplace called Ely.

He just turned the carefully wrapped flowers in his hands. "I don't know. It just seemed to be important to keep them."

"Don't harass him, Yuri." Kayla smiled as she snuggled against Adrian, who in his turn was propped up against several grain sacks. "It was sweet. And I think his bringing them along is sweet too."

Adrian leaned forward and kissed her cheek. That was all it took, they were completely wrapped up in each other. Yuri just grinned at him and all Voril could do was smile back. They'd been like this since the end of the wedding dance. If it wasn't so perfect, it would be giving him a sugar high just watching them.

As it was, it made a good distraction from the physical discomforts of their immediate situation. The truck they were hiding in was an elderly vehicle to start with. The bad springs and worse roads helped nothing. But they were loaded in the back with the grain bags for seats and those were proving to be harder and a lot colder than he'd anticipated.

The trip was supposed to take six hours. They'd only been on the road an hour so far. The next five were looking more and more dismal by the second.

He decided he'd rather think about happier things than how cold his hands were getting. There was nothing they could do about the temperature other than survive it. They were properly bundled up and well wrapped but the truth was they were starting to climb into the mountains. The chill of the plains where the Grayhawk ranch sat was nothing like the ice of the high country. All the extra covers had gone to Kayla even though she had Adrian sharing warmth with her. In a choice between a pregnant Natural girl and a Coordinator boy who was nothing more than acutely uncomfortable, it was fairly obvious who the blanket was going to and neither of them begrudged them to her.

He tucked the bundle of flowers inside his jacket and huddled against Yuri. There was no point in being any colder than one had to after all. Lubbek had no objections to sharing warmth either. He couldn't be any more comfortable than Voril truth be told.

"Sweet, eh?" Yuri laughed softly.

"I do not understand how girls think." Voril grumbled. "It isn't like I was trying or anything. They came straight at me! What was I supposed to do, duck?"

"I don't know. This is the first Natural wedding I've ever been to. I've no idea what half those rituals were for. And since they were from at least two different religions, I doubt anyone who wasn't a Grayhawk did understand it all."

"It was quite the show though, you have to grant that."

"Oh, yeah, it sure was!" Yuri nodded. "Did you know they plan to ship all that stuff up to us later? That those were _gifts_?"

Voril stared at him. "You have to be joking! That was a small fortune they piled on us!"

"Not a joke. Charlie himself told me so." Yuri told him solemnly.

Voril sat back in shock. Gifts? He couldn't believe it. Not that much! One of the pieces maybe but all of it? He teased the instant picture of the wedding party out of his pocket and stared at it. Just how much had they given them?

"_Nothing you do not deserve."_ Kit Fox announced.

Voril's eyes snapped up to find the Spirit coiled comfortable on a particularly large sack.

There was a happy, fox grin on the other's face. _"Think about the wedding. You will be happier and warmer for remembering a good thing."_

He smiled like an idiot. Oh, yeah, the wedding had been a very good thing. His hand drifted to touch the flowers again. They'd come from there. He let his mind flow back only a few short hours.

* * *

_Voril stood where he'd been more or less planted by a striking, silver haired, bronze eyed old man introduced as Maria Spotted Horse's older brother Matthew. Somewhat trained by now, the Coordinator had this one pegged as yet another shaman in seconds. And given how friendly he and that scary old Yellow Dog were, not one you should be taking stupid chances with either._

_He'd been grabbed twenty minutes earlier and hauled into a side room where his uniform had been brushed down until there wasn't a hint of crease or lint on it. Then old Charlie had come in and plopped a box down, telling this Matt Spotted Horse the contents were his to wear. Out of that box had come an amazing set of inlaid silverwork. His attempts at protest had fallen on deaf ears._

_So he'd ended up wearing a necklace made of a double row of running foxes all put together from small pieces of onyx, mother of pearl, turquoise and coral and set in heavy silver. It supported a fox mask almost the size of his fist done in the same style as a centerpiece. There was a wide leather belt around his waist and hanging down the front of his tunic, heavily carved, that supported ten oval conchos with more of the inlaid foxes bounding along against vivid mountain backdrops. A pair of matching bracelets with fox masks that were almost identical to the front piece of the necklace rode over the cuffs of his uniform jacket and a fox head ring with turquoise eyes was set on his right hand. And a very oddly beautiful piece that seemed to be made of miniature fur tails hanging from bead strings was braided into his hair._

_He'd been allowed to see the finished work and he'd just stood almost stunned in front of the mirror. Not only did the jewelry actually go with the uniform in an amazing way, the whole had somehow given him an appearance of dignity and maturity he knew he didn't actually have yet. It was almost as though he was getting a glimpse of his own future. Kit Fox assured him it was his present he saw but this time he couldn't believe the Spirit at all._

_Yuri'd stood beside him, decked out in similar regalia but his were all white birds, the inlay either mother of pearl or white opal. Other than the fire in the opal, there was no other color of any kind but silver and white in his set. Laid over the dark gray of a ZAFT aide's uniform, it glittered like frost. The white feathers on their bead strings now braided into his dark hair only emphasized an odd sense of experience and deep wisdom the jewelry seemed to bring out in his friend._

_The Bronze Spider stood opposite him. She was in full dress uniform herself, the three neat rows of ribbons intimidating to anyone who could read them and understand just what kind of genuine war hero they were looking at. She obviously hadn't bothered with any of the minor stuff. And she too, wore stunningly beautiful antique jewelry over her uniform. It had the same effect on hers it seemed to have on his uniform and Yuri's. You saw past the surface now to the steel below, and to the innate keen judgment too. This was an officer any soldier would be lucky to have for a commander._

_Alys was Second for the Spider. She was dressed in a brightly colored skirt and blouse heavily embroidered and beaded with equally heavily decorated leather shoes on her feet. Her usually wildly free hair was firmly secured in two heavy braids that had bright beaded clasps on the ends. Those had enough long bead fringes that you just knew she was going to be hours getting it untangled from her hair. Her jewelry didn't look as old but the effect was somehow similar. You saw the bright fire of the girl and the strong woman she was rapidly becoming. He also had an odd impression of a very upright, solid, sand colored cat with spotted fur sitting beside her, one with very large ears with long, dark tufts on the ends. It blinked at him and faded from view._

_As Doug and Richard Grayhawk put the last of the fur rugs on the chairs, the guests began to come in. The outfit Alys was wearing had been a warning he realized as her mother turned up in a very similar skirt and blouse. Janet Grayhawk's jewelry was even more impressive than what the Spider was wearing. Howard was no where to be seen at the moment but there was a chair reserved for him beside his wife. The military portion of the family was mostly in full dress uniform, without the elaborate jewelry for those not part of the ceremony. _

_Todd however was dressed up almost like his twin. He wore dark pants with heavy embroidery at the hem and running almost to the knee on the outside seam under an even more spectacularly embroidered shirt. He too sported a necklace, belt, bracelets and even a long beaded string with a gold coin on the end in his hair. From the look his mother gave him, that last wasn't supposed to be part of the outfit._

_The rest of the family, a couple neighbors and a very few others Howard and Janet felt trustworthy were just as done up. The light reflecting off all the polished silver was actually getting a bit hard on the eyes by the time Matt Spotted Horse led the last guest in. The tiny, ancient woman was a figure out of another century. Her outfit looked to be made completely of very soft white leather and was decorated to the point where Voril wondered how she could stand up under the weight of all those beads. A pair of what looked like small tails framed her face, white like her hair, as was the perfectly plain headband that held it out of her eyes. She walked with the aid of a single plain white stick; her steps slow but stately as she moved to a seat in front in that would normally be reserved for the groom's mother. Matthew Spotted Horse took the seat the groom's father would have had if he'd been present._

_He heard a soft hiss come from his right. Without turning his head, he let his eyes look toward the Reverend Jerome. The man was standing stiff as a stuffed doll, his false smile looking even more plastered on than it had been earlier. Whoever she was, he sure wasn't happy to see her._

_Voril found himself wondering if the minister had brought his brightly decorated vestments intending to stand out at this wedding or to just hold his own in the crowd. He pretty clearly had known what to expect from the family as far as full dress went but he'd just as clearly been rather shocked when he'd seen the two ZAFT pilots in not only their own uniforms but overlaid with the amazing jewelry as well. Nor had he missed how little the man had approved of what he was seeing either. It was probably a good thing that Janet and Howard intended to hold him at the ranch a couple of days. This guy struck him as the kind who'd go straight to Blue Cosmos if he thought he could get away with it._

_Reverend Jerome's eyes suddenly widened and his face went perfectly blank. At the same moment he heard a tiny grunt of surprise from Yuri. As his eyes swept around, he noted a look of startled approval on General Grayhawk's face. Then he was looking back toward the open arch that led into the living room._

_Adrian Ito stood just inside that arch. If he'd thought the jewelry had made a difference in how he or Yuri looked, that paled next to what the combination of ZAFT red and the arts of the silversmith had done for his Captain. He was still clearly quite young yet, but it was a man and a leader of his kind who stood there now. _

_This Adrian understood and knowingly accepted the responsibilities of his leadership. There was courage here but no recklessness. Youthful he might be, but he nevertheless had more than enough experience to make him a canny judge of a battlefield. There would be no lives wasted by this commander. He was a protector, a defender, not an aggressor. He understood he had more, much more to learn. But he knew enough to make the hard decisions and was strong enough to live with whatever came of them. For the first time, Voril really understood why old Charlie called Adrian "Eagle's Heart". _

_The Captain bowed slightly to his soon-to-be father-in-law and walked quietly up to join them. He saluted the Spider, who returned it briskly, a very small smile on her face. He offered Alys a formal bow, and she rather surprised Voril by knowing the correct way to return that bow using the etiquette of the Plants. Adrian followed that by startling everyone in the room when he offered a slow, ceremonial bow to the Reverend Jerome as well. The man did not respond but then, no one expected such courtesy from him. And in honesty, that gesture hadn't actually been made to the man after all. It had been an acknowledgement of his office and the God he represented, however poorly one might think he did so._

_Someone struck a drum softly. It was a big one, with a deep tone that vibrated into the core of your bones even as lightly as it sounded now. All of them turned toward it. Voril never saw it. His jaw tried to fall off as he stared at the bride who was standing in the archway beside her father. He didn't really notice Howard Grayhawk's full dress rig-out until after the wedding was over. His attention was far too arrested by Kayla. _

_He'd never seen this kind of full dress Alliance uniform before, he had no idea they came like this. But the incandescent colors brought out the intensity of the green of her eyes and made her jet hair shimmer. The jewelry was as good a compliment to her uniform as Adrian's was to his. None of which he honestly saw for the entire ceremony._

_It was the person he stared at. He recognized her. This was the one the name Soaring Hawk Woman belonged to. Three words jumped into his mind; courage, honor, and integrity. There were others in there too, but those three dominated the figure he could not take his eyes off of. When this one gave her heart, it would be for all time. And she had._

_Then Adrian moved. His left hand rose, held out to her. She crossed the floor with a grace the watching Coordinator had never associated with any Natural before to take that hand in her right. _

_Then they were together. As they were always going to be from now on. He didn't think even death would part them now. They turned to the angry minister before them, and made him look so small and insignificant next to the pair of them._

_Voril didn't really remember the actual wedding. He was somehow lost in the beat of the drum and the overwhelming aura of the guests most of the others couldn't see. They came in many shapes and had a disconcerting tendency to change them while he was watching. It was the four who didn't change though that rocked him to the core of his being._

_They were so clearly Grayhawks, no one could miss the family's looks. They all wore Alliance uniforms. The eldest was a navel Commander with the tabs of a mobile armor pilot on his collar. A Lt. Commander, also a mobile armor pilot, stood beside him. A pair of Lieutenants flanked them. The other man wore the engineer's cogwheel and compass on his collar while the woman had a pin he didn't recognize. But Voril Joule knew who they had to be. _

_If anyone had asked him beforehand, he would have told them he would expect the lost Grayhawk siblings to reject even the suggestion of their sister and a ZAFT soldier getting married. But it wasn't rejection he was seeing. They were wary but they did not hate. They just observed in silence. Then, between one blink and the next, they were gone._

_That was when Voril realized the wedding itself was over. He found himself standing at Yuri's side, watching as the now lawfully married pair stepped back from the rest of the wedding party as Howard began to introduce Adrian to the very ancient lady in the white leather and beadwork dress. He missed her name, he was too busy watching the impossibly huge wolf that seemed to be with her as it stalked around Ito, sniffing carefully. He was relieved, almost enough to have his knees give out on him, when the wolf settled beside the old lady and gave Ito a very amused canine grin that his Captain didn't see at all._

_That was the end of his coherent memories of the day. There was an amazing feast in the dining room, he did remember that although he could never say who he sat with or what was said. There was some kind of ceremony afterwards with the ancient lady who he finally learned was Howard Grayhawk's grandmother and some hundred and twelve years old. And when they all gathered at the foot of the stairs as Kayla and Adrian retreated out of sight, he was the silly fool who had her bouquet land in his hands. _

_The look he got from Alys when he caught the flowers just about scared him witless. Nor did he understand it. He didn't understand why everyone snickered when he hastily offered them to her either. It was quite clear to him that she'd been intending to catch them herself. And he really didn't want to keep them if she was going to be giving him such completely incomprehensible glares for it. Having her turn red and run away just left him utterly flummoxed. He was never going to understand women. _

* * *

He sighed quietly, realizing Yuri had managed to drop off to sleep while he'd been wandering through recent memory. His friend's weight had settled against his left side, not uncomfortably so but it was going to restrict movement. However, they would be unlucky indeed if they needed to move for a good while yet.

Voril did slid his free hand out of the blankets to tug both his duffel and Yuri's tighter against their feet. The bags were also gifts, sturdy woven wool saddle blanket style work that had been made into a piece of luggage instead of gracing the back of a horse. They were filled with more gifts since none of the family would let them leave the house with anything that could be traced to the Plants.

Less than half the clothing was actually new but it was all in excellent condition and they'd tried everything on to be sure it all fit. They also had new toiletries, all local Earth brands that wouldn't catch a second look if the bags were searched. It had been the Spider's planning that provided this bounty. It seemed she'd done this for other, much more innocent Coordinators before.

So now they were headed for someplace called Ely in the state of Nevada. It was going to take them a good long while to get there and they'd be changing rides more than once. But the people she'd put them in touch with seemed both confident and very familiar with what they were doing. They assured them it would be possible to catch a flight to Vancouver from Ely. And even in the Plants everyone knew the former Canadian areas were much less hostile to Coordinators than the American ones. He settled back against Yuri's sleeping body and tried to catch some rest himself. They still had a long way to go.


	48. Chapter 48

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will still get you ignored.)

I now have a beta reader! A very good friend with some of the sharpest editing judgment I know of has agreed to help keep me from rambling all over the known universe and beyond. So from now on, it will all be beta'd by T'Amara.

Threads continue to weave, the trip to safety begins.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

He was going to have to remember to do something extra nice for Serin. She was the one who'd found this helpful young man after all. She paid him a bit extravagantly true, a complete spaceship couldn't be considered standard wages even if he'd had to fix it himself, but he certainly produced results for it!

"Roland, what are you staring at now?" And then again, she was a busybody who couldn't mind her own business.

"Your Captain Martin is a good man, decent diplomat and fine negotiator."

"Ah, so we now employ the Serpent Tail do we?" She asked eagerly.

Roland nodded, deciding he would have to be nice after all since she was agreeing with him. "Yes, your boy took the offer to Murakumo and he agreed. I expect a large part of the agreement is because all he has to do is sit tight and run off intruders. I rather suspect he'd be doing that anyway but it never hurts to get paid for it."

"How long a contract have you set up?"

"One month." All humor fled the old man's eyes. "Either we have stripped the place by then or we haven't but that will make a total of almost seven weeks on-site for the recovery team and that's dangerously long. We can't leave them there past that point. Not with Gilbert, or someone with his kind of reach and power, trying to pry already. Murakumo is on the colony at the moment to do refit and repairs to his equipment. Those won't really take a full month more but he can stretch his time that far without it looking suspicious. Much more, and there will be unanswerable questions asked. We aren't doing this to attract attention."

She raised one eyebrow. "Do you want me to contract for a second team to increase the pace of the work? If you know where to find the money, I know a few more people in the Junk Guild who can keep their mouths shut."

He shook his head regretfully. "Can't really use them. The team already there seems to be just about maximizing their use of that Probex System we sent. I can't justify purchasing another one right now. And, unfortunately, a unit that size will be something Gilbert's loyalists would notice on an invoice. That's another reason we have a time limit on our explorations by the way. I can't explain away our lack of record condensing much past that extra month since that Probex they have is supposed to be working in our basement!"

"You know, life would be ever so much easier if you'd just tell _me_ what lies you were telling everyone else!" Serin glared at him and he reconsidered being nice again. "Roland, we really need to stop working at cross purposes here. Has it ever occurred to you that I could make a right mess of one of your convoluted plans out of simple ignorance that _you_ had the power to cure? Which, by the way is me telling you that I informed that agent of Dee's that the Probex wasn't here yet since you hadn't given me any other clues to work with and have been making yourself as unavailable as you possibly could for the last few days."

Roland Ito gave his daughter-in-law a flat stare. "You told him it wasn't here yet. We've paid for it and have a delivery invoice and you told him it wasn't here. Serin, what were you thinking?"

"I told him it was at Maklins Instruments being calibrated for your special project. I did not tell him which project. And I've got that old Probex you were going to scrap over at Maklins being repaired and calibrated right now! So the story is quite true, and utterly false, at the same time. Do not denigrate my intelligence Old Goat!"

Roland could feel his stare getting even flatter than before. That was the silly girl's insult he'd just been handed. No, he definitely wasn't doing anything nice at all! Although, he did have to admit she'd covered them rather well with the Probex issue.

He hissed in irritation. "Fine, you managed that better than I'd expected. Considering how old that thing is, and what kind of shape it was in, I gather we can expect it to take a few weeks to get back here then."

"Just about five." Serin agreed. "Which, if you really intend to pack up and pull out in a month will be just about right for when we can expect the new one back as well."

He sighed softly, no, he really was going to have to be nice about this. Too many things were working out well because she could and did think before she acted. How had his scatterbrained son managed to attract such a sensible, logical woman?

"Oh," she added offhandedly, "we need to discuss those plans of yours for the Mendel genetics too."

Roland Ito carefully put the letter down on his desk and settled in behind it. The tone of her voice was not promising. Had she busybodied her way into his files again? He sighed again. If he was going to be honest, and being anything else would be very counterproductive right now, she had a right to this. He sat back and eyed her. She stared levelly back at him.

"Have a seat Serin." He told her as he began to bring up DNA spiral after DNA spiral. "This will take a bit to go over."

* * *

The road through Utah had been better than the roads in Colorado. Of course, much of Utah was lower lying land and didn't see the same kind of abusive winter conditions the mountain roads had in Colorado. But there seemed to be a difference in state emphasis too. Their current driver, George – all five male drivers had introduced themselves as George and the four women had called themselves Martha, something Kayla said went back to the founding of the late United States – had pointed with an almost arrogant pride to his state's determination to keep it's transportation net in good order.

This George was their seventh 'freighter' and the first one Adrian didn't like. Oh he was affable enough but those cheerful smiles never touched his eyes. There should have been two of them too but this guy had talked the older woman who'd intended to accompany them out of going along. Kayla had accepted the decision despite being disappointed in not having another woman to talk to. Adrian had his own thoughts on what was going on.

It was the man's roving eyes that disturbed him. Most specifically, it was the way they tended to linger a bit too long and a bit too often on Kayla. They hadn't told any of these people she wasn't another Coordinator, they didn't need to know that, but he was getting more and more sure this 'George' had somehow figured it out. Adrian was also becoming very convinced this guy was resentful of a beautiful Natural girl keeping company with three Coordinator boys.

He'd been driving one of the longest legs so far too, having picked them up in Provo. They were near the Nevada state line now and he hadn't said a word for close to an hour. Both Kayla and Yuri were napping now. But Voril was awake, aware, and if you knew him well enough to see it, growing steadily less comfortable with the situation. The driver coughed, waking both the sleepers instantly.

"Ah, hey!" George called just that bit too heartily. "You guys hungry?"

"Yes!" Kayla snapped before anyone else could say anything.

"Food would be good." Voril agreed calmly.

"There's a small truck stop just up the road. If there's nobody around, you want to get a bite there?"

Kayla approved instantly, settling the matter immediately. Voril agreed with something the uninformed could take for his regular attraction to food. Yuri nodded sleepily, unless you saw his eyes which told a very different story of his level of awareness. Adrian just shrugged, striving to project indifference.

The truck stop was a small place with half the number of fuel pumps of most such places they'd passed. But it had a neatly kept look to it that spoke well of the managers and gave him some hope for the quality of the food. A pair of motorcycles, both Alliance military issue, rolled out of the parking lot just as they pulled in. That left one large, squat vehicle in the space beside the one they parked in.

Like the bikes that had just left, it was Alliance military. Adrian caught the brief flash of satisfaction on George's face before he schooled it to neutrality. They had a deadly serious problem here.

"Not good." Kayla eyed it grimly.

"You need to eat." Adrian reminded her, his hand briefly resting on the bulge in her abdomen. "And we're all disguised well enough to pass as Naturals."

"We hope." Yuri muttered darkly.

"Yeah but unless the rest of them are hiding someplace, I'm only seeing one overcoat hung up in there and no extra heads." Voril said quietly, eyes scanning as much of the place as he could through the windshield.

George either missed their soft conversation or was good at pretending because he turned very calmly and asked, "You guys still want to get something to eat? The lady can stay here of course, out of sight."

Kayla reached over and popped the door open before any of them could think of a safe answer. "Nope, not staying out here. I want a chair that doesn't move under me and a chance to get really warmed up."

"Besides," she added as she stepped out of the van, "we'll be less suspicious if I stick with the guys."

For a split second, Adrian caught something very ugly in George's eyes. It went with the attempt to isolate Kayla and the truck stop frequented by the Alliance. Treachery was no longer a possibility, it was a sure thing. As he moved to follow her out of the van, he gave the other two quick handsigns, asking them to make sure their luggage was taken out of this trap of a van before something happened to it.

George was trying to be subtle about it but as soon as he was out, Adrian noticed the touch-lock for the van was in his fingers. Kayla must have noted it as well because she grabbed the man's arm and dragged his attention to the vehicle they were parked next to, asking quick questions about capacity and the kinds of terrain it could cross.

George eyed the low slung machine without interest. "That's a modified land crawler. See, it's got wheels instead of treads. Holds fifteen with full field packs, more if you're just hauling bodies without extra supplies. It'll go pretty much anywhere."

"Yeah? And what's it doing here then?"

"Hey, we're almost at the state line. There's a huge training base just over the line, right outside Wendover. Soldiers like to eat something besides service chow when they can get it. I picked this place because it's fairly far from the closest base gate and is a lot less popular than just about any other spot around."

"So, what about that soldier?" Kayla jerked her chin at the window of the restaurant.

He shrugged carelessly. "You're all disguised, shouldn't be a problem."

Kayla locked eyes with him, holding his attention with her suspicious hostility for a good couple of minutes while he tried to placate her. Adrian leaned against the doorframe, using his body and a blanket he'd grabbed to wrap around his shoulders to block the man's sight as Voril and Yuri got the bags out of the van and stashed them under it to hide them for the immediate moment. He didn't move until Yuri tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he was wearing that blanket inside. He let Yuri take it and toss it in the van before he closed the door. All of them heard the small snick as it locked behind them. Adrian couldn't completely repress the shudder the tiny noise triggered as it put, at least to him, the intention to betray beyond all doubt.

The lone Alliance soldier in his small corner booth and the five of them were the only customers at this early hour of the morning. Voril picked their table and positioned himself to be able to keep an eye on the soldier's booth. Kayla neatly seated herself beside him and Adrian grabbed the chair next to her before George could. Yuri took the spot that put his back to the soldier but left him with a perfect line of sight on the door. That left the one seat with it's back fully to the door for the discontented George.

The waitress, an older woman with sharper eyes than most, brought them menus and coffee and left them to make their choices while she refilled the soldier's cup from the pot she was carrying. Adrian heard a light laugh that hadn't come from the waitress, apparently she'd said something to amuse him. Voril was still entirely relaxed though so whatever she'd said hadn't directed the man's attention to them.

When she came back they gave her their decisions, mostly varieties of breakfast; in Voril's case, two of them. She gave him the kind of indulgent smile Adrian was used to seeing mothers give happy small children who were behaving exceptionally well and just noted them down on the tab. When George ordered even more however, her look was not so tolerant. It gave him the feeling that George was no stranger here, and that he wasn't particularly welcome either. She left them a full pot of coffee when she took the order to the kitchen.

The wait for their food was uncomfortable. George kept up a running commentary on the nearby base, the frequency of the military patrols, and how much the base commander despised the coming peace. He also had a good deal to say about the roads in Nevada, which he apparently regarded with contempt because it allowed gambling and legal prostitution. It was becoming obvious that George had a rather strong religious streak and that his convictions were something he was heavily inclined to push on others.

Adrian was beginning to see where their problem was coming from. George was one of those people who could accept Coordinators as long as they kept to their own kind and what he saw as their 'place'; a location many steps below that of a Natural. But Kayla was a Natural who was unmistakably romantically involved with a Coordinator and this violated his beliefs. And it was clear that George had his beliefs ranked in order of importance. Enforcing his version of genetic correctness was distinctly more significant to him than keeping his word to them and the organization he worked with to transport them safely.

The man never once uttered the word 'Coordinator'. He never mentioned the underground groups that aided Coordinators to escape from dangerous situations in North America. He was very careful not to say that that's what these people sitting with him were. But unless that soldier in the corner booth was deaf and stupid both, he couldn't possibly miss the implications. And once the food arrived, he kept up his fairly cleverly worded denunciation all the way through the meal.

Adrian had to admit the man was sharper than he'd credited him with being. His carefully chosen wordage implicated the three actual ZAFT officers. He was distancing Kayla from them, making it seem as though she was separate from their group. The performance was actually impressive. It was also infuriating but there was nothing he could do about it at this instant. That didn't mean something wasn't being done though.

The four of them played tired and stupid, avoiding rising to his insinuations by coming as close to ignoring them as they could and still hold a conversation. Voril had gradually dropped out of the chat altogether, yawning in the familiar manner of someone who is very weary and who had just eaten too well. He looked ready to fall asleep in his plate. By the meal's end, Yuri was communing with his coffee and looked only slightly more alert than Voril. His responses had fallen off to the occasional agreeable grunt.

That left Kayla and Adrian to keep the man's attention and the conversation going. It was imperative that they do so. His attention could not be allowed to settle on his plate. The Bronze Spider understood the dangers this trip posed to her sister and she knew more about the people who ran this operation that Adrian suspected they dreamed in their wildest nightmares. She'd given them something to deal with situations just like this one. So every time George's eyes left his food, Yuri or Voril saw to it that the powerful sleeper drug she'd given them was scattered onto the next bite. Unfortunately, given the man's size and the amount he was eating, it wasn't acting as quickly as usual.

They were down to the last crumbs before his words began to slur. Then his eyes started blinking rapidly. It was hitting him at last. Kayla began to smile at him, paying strict attention to everything he said. It instantly locked what attention he still had on her as Adrian took to nodding over his coffee rather like Yuri was. George was so intent on impressing the girl he was now drugged enough to just short of admit he had designs on that he failed to recognize his own deteriorating condition.

The farce ended abruptly when the man's head suddenly bobbled, then slowly folded down onto his chest. The rest of his body began to go slack at the same time. As his torso started to fold, Voril reached over and removed the used plate and coffee cup from the 'landing zone'. Neither he nor Yuri made any effort to catch George. He hit the table with a fairly solid thud, face first, and started to snore instantly.

"Ok," Kayla eyed him with malicious dislike, "we've managed to knock out the driver. Any cute ideas on where we go from here?"

"Not yet." Adrian admitted quietly. "But we really didn't have a choice here."

"Yeah, I know. He was making it pretty clear what he wanted there." She agreed bitterly. "And I'd have killed him if he'd tried it too."

"Agreed." Yuri said softly. "It leaves us with a situation though."

"Ah, what do we do then?" Voril got back to the point quietly. "He's gonna be out for hours. If we take the van, then its theft and he'll have every police officer and their military cousins looking for us. If we take him along, we are just bringing danger with us."

"Besides which," Kayla muttered, "do any of us know where we're supposed to meet the next driver and what the sign and countersign are?"

"We meet them at what George here and the Martha who didn't make the trip called a monster truck stop somewhere between Wendover and Wells. The sign is any remark about the weather in Vancouver and the counter is the claim Seattle is better." Yuri replied with a small smile. "Sometimes eavesdropping pays."

"All right, thanks to Yuri and his sharp ears we know how to make the necessary contact. As for this lump, let me see what I can do." Adrian stood quickly. "The waitress may have a useful idea or two. I got the impression she knows and doesn't like our George here."

He picked up the bill and moved just briskly enough to the counter to pay it.

"I see Eric finally passed out." The waitress told him with a somewhat malicious grin. "That girl got lucky. He ain't one who takes no for an answer."

"Kayla is my wife." Adrian said quietly, filing this new name for 'George' in him mind. "He would have taken the no. One way or another."

Tired but surprisingly shrewd eyes studied him. "Been married long?"

"No." He shook his head and gave her their cover story. "We had to wait until she mustered out. The services don't like their women officers married unless he outranks her by a good margin."

"Huh, yeah sugar, I've seen that a time or two." She nodded sagely. "Waiting was smart of you both, even if there are kids on the way."

"Yes, well, that wasn't supposed to happen." Adrian tried his best to look at least somewhat ashamed of himself.

The woman grinned, a quite genuine expression this time. "Ha! Yeah, I'll bet! Still, its good to see a boy honest enough to do right by his girl."

Captain Ito blushed. He couldn't prevent it. The tone of voice, while kind enough, really managed to bite at the same time. He had to wonder how many this woman had seen who hadn't 'done right' by their girls.

"Uhm," he needed to change the topic, fast. "Having him pass out like this leaves us with a problem of transportation. Is there a bus we could catch? We're headed to Reno to visit her aunt but promised her uncle we'd stop by his place on the way and it's in Elko. Does one bus go both places?"

"Well, yes." The woman frowned. "But you don't want to wait for it here. What with the war and all, the only bus won't be here until almost noon. It'll take you to Elko right enough and you can catch a Reno bound bus there but this won't be any place to have that pretty wife of yours in about an hour."

She looked up the highway as if she could see something coming in the dark where no headlights shone. "It won't be any place for you either. You three boys all look like you're part Coordinator. Now I know no one picks their parents or grand-parents so I can't hold that against you but our place is real popular with that special ops team that came for training last month and they can, do, and will hold it real bad against you all. They're called the 81st Independent Mobile Battalion and they're Blue Cosmos to a man. It might be no more than bad words and such if there's an officer with 'em but they come without one most of the time and that'd be the death of you boys. No, you need to be gone before dawn."

Adrian noted she hadn't mentioned what these bastards were likely to do to Kayla and he mentally thanked her for not going into any detail at all. "That will be a problem. We aren't going to steal Eric's van."

"Tell you what." She nodded toward the corner booth. "The Lieutenant there is a good boy, honest, decent, and he's got nothing against any of the people you came from. He can get you to the White Rock truck stop on the far side of Wendover. It'll be safe for you to wait for the bus there. Those Phantom Pain fellas don't go that far from the base; they can't beat up someone they don't see."

"Phantom Pain?"

"Oh, that's what those 81st Mobile boys call themselves."

Adrian tucked both names away in the back of his mind. He'd never heard of the unit before. While he wasn't here to play spy, when someone handed him intelligence on a platter he wasn't fool enough to hand it back. Besides, a pure Blue Cosmos unit was something the Plants should be aware of. He wondered how long it had been around.

He had a more pressing problem though. It seemed the changes in clothing, the hair paints, and the discrete use of makeup General Grayhawk had managed for them was at least partly effective. They weren't being spotted as Coordinators but he had to wonder if being taken for a part-blood was all that much better. Still, even that had to take second place to just getting out of here. And he really, really, didn't want to take her suggestion. Not only did he not want to test the disguises against the observational skills of another trained soldier, he knew none of them knew enough about conditions on Earth to be able to hold a real conversation without getting caught.

He decided to tackle the smallest of his problems first, hoping inspiration would hit in the mean time. "I'll think about that. We need to do something about Eric though."

"No problem. We got rooms for truckers upstairs. He can have one. It isn't like he's the first we've ever had who drove too long and passed out after getting a decent meal into him. We've had fools drive straight through from Fresno, all the way in California, through the High Sierra and the basin country before they'd finally stop here for a bite." She shook her head. "And the idiots wonder why they drop over into their soup!"

She gave him a crooked grin. "I know Eric, he's not broke. I'll get the price of the room outta him. You don't have to worry about it. You bought him a meal after all."

He nodded and ducked back to the table. It took a couple minutes to fill them in on what they were going to do with 'George', also called Eric. Kayla just snorted when he explained, she thought he should be out a lot more than the cost of a motel room. But the news about the bus time and this 81st Mobile Battalion was received with the grim thoughtfulness it deserved. The suggestion that they catch a ride with the Earth Forces officer was just tossed aside immediately.

They didn't have time to discuss it yet. Being most closely matched in size, he and Yuri picked the unconscious man up and more or less dragged him over to the elevator where the waitress was waiting. It was the work of minutes to have him upstairs and dumped in a bed with his shoes off and the coverlet dropped over him.

The woman put Eric's watch, wallet, and a gold bracelet he was wearing into a small lockbox that she secured behind a grill-plate in the wall. She took the key to that grill with her. Adrian was relieved. This way, there was little chance the bastard would be able to file false charges of theft against them.

Kayla smiled as they settled back at the table. Adrian returned it weakly. He still had no good idea of how to get them out of this place.

"So what do we do now?" Yuri asked the inevitable.

"I don't know." Adrian admitted unhappily.

"Ah, one part of the equation is moving." Voril said softly, his head carefully tipped down toward his coffee while his eyes watched the Alliance soldier through the shield of his bangs.

Adrian glanced over, making sure he avoided staring. He didn't want the man getting any suspicions of any of them. But when he got a good look at the enemy officer, he nearly dropped his jaw in shock. This was an Earth Forces soldier?

He was terribly young to start with. He honestly looked about fourteen although he had to be at least two years older than that to hold a commission rank in any Alliance service. And he was tiny. If he stood five feet tall he'd be amazed. He looked dangerously thin, like he hadn't ever eaten well in his life.

The Lieutenant had the most delicate hands Adrian had ever seen on a male human and he was honestly and truly girl pretty. The light in the restaurant made his hair look a dark auburn and it curled gently to his collar. But it was the strange sunglasses he was wearing, inside, at night, that didn't make any sense at all.

"Oh shit!"

"It can't be!"

Kayla and Voril's soft voiced but shocked exclamations tripped over each other. The Lieutenant had shrugged his overcoat on and was starting for the door when he apparently looked at them for the first time. He froze, shock written across his handsome face. Then he moved again, headed their way slowly, head turning just enough to tell Adrian that he was looking back and forth between Kayla and Voril.

He stopped at the back of the chair Eric had been sitting in. "Captain Grayhawk? What's going on here?"

Kayla visible dragged herself back together. "Nothing's going on. And it isn't Captain any more. I've resigned my commission."

Even up close it was not possible to see into that very odd set of sunglasses he was wearing. They lay across his eyes more like liner goggles than standard sunglasses and they were obviously fit snuggly enough to be very difficult to dislodge. There was something weirdly familiar about them too. Adrian was sure he'd seen something like them before but he definitely did not associate that memory with anything related to the Earth Forces. No, he couldn't see them but he knew those eyes were studying each of them in turn.

"Perhaps a better question would be, do you need any help?" The young officer asked quietly, and the query was directed to Voril.

"Justice, . . ." Kayla said quietly, then let it die, plainly not able to think of how to finish her thought.

"Why would you?" Voril asked, deadly seriously.

"Consider what I owe your cousin." The Lieutenant replied, just as seriously.

"Someone want to clue me in?" Captain Ito asked, voice soft but the tone like steel.

The small Earth Forces officer nodded. "I'm Lieutenant Justice Rockway, Alliance Navy. And it was your friend's cousin who saved my life. I'm a Rockway, we pay our debts. And somehow, I doubt I'll ever get another chance to pay this one so completely."

"Tell me, where did you get that medical visor?" Yuri asked gently. "I didn't think those could be found here."

"It wasn't made here. It was made where you think it was, at the Vision Research Center on Marius 4. And I was given it as part of a course of treatment for severe visual injury while I was a prisoner of war."

"Adrian, Justice is ok. And he knows a bit too much to brush off. His only brother is a Coordinator." Kayla said quietly.

"Specifically, Bridger is a Commander in the ZAFT." Rockway said evenly.

Adrian stared at the blind band the other wore where his eyes should be. Now that he knew what that was, he knew they might not even be behind it any longer. Those visors could restore a functional form of sight to anyone with a working optic nerve although they couldn't help someone if the nerve had been destroyed. He made a split second decision based on nothing more than his impression of this too pretty, too small boy in front of him.

"We need a ride." He told the Naval officer.

"My leave is good for the next twelve hours. How far do you need to go?"

"To the far side of Wendover."

"I can get you there."

"Then, thank you."


	49. Chapter 49

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will still get you ignored.)

I now have a beta reader! A very good friend with some of the sharpest editing judgment I know of has agreed to help keep me from rambling all over the known universe and beyond. So from now on, it will all be beta'd by T'Amara.

Sorry about the length of time between updates. Trying to get two sets of characters to talk to me at the same time is not always working. The trip continues. Other things happen. Enjoy, I hope.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed.

* * *

The very old are often prone to insomnia. At least that was the excuse she used when the family found her out of bed at two in the morning. But the issue was rarely any inability to sleep. Rather she simply seemed to need very little some nights. This was one of those nights.

Agnes Bear sat in her grandson's kitchen and listened to his house whisper around her. It told her many things. That it was a happy place. That it needed someone to check on the wood ants that were trying to chew their way through the lowest log of the southwest corner of the library. That there had been great anger and serious grief here lately. That there had been equally great love and joy present too. But most of all, the house told her there was evil under its roof tonight. Her grandson's mother-in-law was a fine woman and worthy of the honor she was held in but her youngest brother was another tale altogether.

One hundred and twelve years is a long time, even for the most dedicated of Medicine people. Agnes was tired of dealing with the breakage left by evil; be it the physical damage of an angry mob or the emotional anguish of the desperate, the trapped, or the abused. Unfortunately, such a lifespan also taught one well. She knew what the faithless one would do as soon as he was allowed to leave the house. He would happily bring dishonor, even death, to avenge the slights done to his crooked soul.

In the morning, his time of restraint would end. He would go. But he would come back and destruction would harass his footsteps like the well-trained dog he had made it. He would bring it to this house. And he would leave it here if he could.

She frowned. She did not want it here. The children had done nothing wrong and much that was right. The science-made ones born among the stars had proven to be fully human. They could see the Spirits. And the Spirits chose to both see and speak to them. It was not right to treat them as though they were soulless creatures. They did not endanger anyone simply by being alive.

"_You must decide, I can not do this for you."_ Timber Wolf told her gently.

"I know." She replied, one small hand reaching out to gently rub his ear.

The Spirit tolerated it for a bit, then stepped back. _"You must decide soon. The first of the family will wake within the hour."_

"It is an ill thing." Agnes told him quietly. "Two ill things do not cancel each other out."

"_True."_ Wolf agreed.

"What does Buffalo say to this? He was once that one's Guardian."

"_What he has said before; that he could not remain a guardian spirit for one who chose evil with knowing heart and eyes." _

"What else?"

"_Nothing else."_

The ancient woman sighed. She hadn't really expected any more from Buffalo. The Spirit grieved still for the bright young man he had once walked with, and had lost to the darkness in a door opened by the boy's own bitter jealousy and unrequited love. She had seen too the sad Angel of his chosen God going behind him, trying to speak to his heart again, striving still to turn him back to the righteous path he had once followed.

She nodded once and asked the question she had to. "What does Spider tell you?"

"_That the pattern of the web has not changed."_

"So be it." Agnes bowed to reality. "Will you sit with me?"

"_I will."_

She stood with care, making very sure the cane was well placed. This wasn't the ceremonial stick she'd used at the children's wedding. This was a modern, ergonomically designed device that allowed her even at her age to walk freely, if slowly, where she would.

It enabled her to reach the far corner of the living room and the massive Spirit Drum the shamen had brought for the wedding. It, too, would be leaving today. But it had not gone yet, and she had need of it.

She lifted the largest, and softest, of the drumsticks from its place on the rack and settled herself in the chair that sat behind the drum. No, this would not be a good thing, but she could not see it as a bad one any longer either. And it was her duty to drive out evil.

Agnes struck the drum softly, awakening a deep sound more felt than heard. Yes, this was the way it must go. All doubt fell aside. She began the chant in a soft voice, one that matched the sounds her rhythmic beat was bringing from the drum. She would do her duty. She would cleanse what was evil. She would protect what was good. One last time.

Timber Wolf sat silently at her side until both voice and drum stopped.

* * *

Lance Thoms chewed the carrot stick thoughtfully as he mentally counted up days. The number he came up with was fifteen. He blinked. Fifteen? He'd only known Rebecca fifteen days? That was idiotic! No one toppled head over heels like this in only fifteen days!

Did they?

Commander Thoms frowned. How long had it taken that idiot boy to fall for the Grayhawk girl? He winced when the tally came up at nine days. So, all right, it was possible. Undignified, probably brain-chemistry based, but possible.

Damn pheromones!

Damn Roland Ito!

He glared at the remnant of the carrot stick. He _liked_ the delusion of romance! He did not appreciate having it reduced to chemistry no matter how complex.

"Are you eating that Dad, or getting ready to shoot it?"

He gave his son a very dry look but Jiro wasn't watching. He was grinning at his own cereal bowl. Sometimes, the degree of sophistication Coordinator children could develop at very early ages was a right pain.

Most didn't of course. Most had a development pattern very similar to, if slightly earlier than, those of Naturals. But not his son. Oh no, he had to have one of the real quick ones. He still didn't have the experience to go with his budding grasp of concepts of course but every now and then the level of Jiro's comprehension was startling. And he'd caught on to how much his father liked Rebecca Grayhawk several days ago. Meals had not been the same since.

He cocked his head thoughtfully. Jiro. This concerned the boy almost as much as it did him. He gave a few minutes thought to how the boy had been acting with Rebecca and the children. He managed to nip his own finger before he came out of that brown study to realize he'd just munched the rest of the carrot stick.

"Maybe you should let Rojas lead the Team today Dad." There was a surprisingly wicked gleam in the boy's eye. "Bet he didn't bite himself at breakfast!"

Lance ignored the comment, being wise enough in the ways of his son to know letting him open that can of worms would see the incident still being beaten to death a year from now; it was better to change the subject. "How are you and Larry getting along?"

"Pretty good." Jiro replied cheerfully. "He's learning how to be polite from Dr. Serin and I'm teaching him how to find his way around in a Plant. He's smarter than I thought he was too."

Yes, that had been a problem. The children had already been started in a Blue Cosmos approved school. Larry hadn't found it mentally challenging and poor Shiloh had been getting the 'males before females' treatment her mother had been raised with. It hadn't done anything good for her development, physically or emotionally. Both children were well behind Plant-raised kids their age. Fortunately, they were also bright and actually wanted to learn. They should catch up in a few months and be just fine.

"Would you be willing to share the house with Larry and Shiloh?" Lance asked abruptly, suddenly unwilling to beat around the bush any longer.

"Ah, . . . . . . . . ., can I think about that?" Jiro was obviously caught by surprise by that one.

"Yes. I would appreciate it if you would." His father told him quietly. "You're very observant, I know you've seen how much I like their mother. If things get serious here, they'll come with her. But you were here first and I want to know how you honestly feel about all this. I don't want you to tell me though until you've really decided what it is that you are feeling. That may take you a few days to work out. I understand that. I'll wait."

"I kinda like them." Jiro told him slowly. "I mean when they're not saying nasty things that is. And it's kinda nice to have someone who thinks I know everything too. But that's not like they were here all the time."

"No, it's not." Lance agreed gently. "And I need you to give some long and hard thought to having them here all the time."

The boy frowned at the nearly empty bowl and the few fragments of cereal left in it. "Dad, would we hafta move? I don't think Grandma likes Larry real well."

"She doesn't like his mouth." His father grinned. "But she's not sure about the boy himself. She does like his mother and sister though. So, no, we wouldn't have to move. I've already asked her about that."

"Ok, that helps." Jiro told him solemnly.

"Good. Keep thinking then and let me know in a few days how it goes."

"All right."

Well, that went better than he'd feared it might. The question remained as to just what Jiro's decision would be but Lance rather thought it would end up positive. Jiro was getting fond of Rebecca himself. He'd also developed a strong protective streak where Shiloh was concerned. It was going to come down to the interplay between the two boys that would be the deciding factor. And while young Lawrence had a big mouth and a ready fist, he also had a lot of insecurities that Jiro made seem much smaller to him. There was a form of hero worship developing there that could be the factor that tipped the scales. Because his son was no more immune to the flattery that brought with it than the next boy his age would be.

Commander Thoms was under no delusions that melding the two disparate families would be either simple or free of problems. The Grayhawk children had been raised as Coordinator-hating Naturals right up to the moment some doctor had discovered they weren't what they'd assumed they were. There would be a lot of anger and pain to be dealt with there before they were fully ready to move on to their new lives. If he brought them into his household, that anger and pain would be worked out right here.

Jiro on the other hand had grown up with the attitude that Naturals were lesser beings. It wasn't something his grandmother had encouraged and he'd stepped on it every chance he got but the attitude was pervasive in the Plants. Some of it had rubbed off on his son. And Larry Grayhawk didn't like that aspect of Jiro at all. Both times the boys had really fought, it had been over some remark of Jiro's that implied Larry's Natural relatives weren't as good as Coordinators.

No, building one family out of the pieces of two would not be easy. But then, the really important things rarely were. He saw his son off to school before he headed for the Ito Project offices. If he was going to try this, he really should get Rebecca's approval first.

* * *

The sky was beginning to pearl out with the first haze of false dawn when they pulled out of the parking lot. There had been very little discussion after Lt. Rockway told them he could get them to this White Rock truck stop. The five of them had just gone out to the odd vehicle, pulled their bags out from under Eric's van, loaded the land crawler and started out.

"The timing here is exquisite." Justice suddenly said evenly. "Here comes the Phantom Pain convoy."

He swung them out onto the highway before the oncoming trucks could pin him in the lot as they turned in. Adrian looked out the back and counted four large vehicles that pulled in to the place they'd just left. When close to two dozen men clambered out of the first one to stop, he found himself almost frighteningly happy that they'd gotten away.

"They travel in packs like that normally?" Yuri asked.

"Always." Rockway answered coldly. "Heaven forbid they should go anywhere alone where there weren't a dozen buddies to keep them on the straight and narrow."

"They give you problems, do they?" Voril was curious.

"Excuse me, but you know enough about me to not ask stupid questions." There was a very sharp anger in the soft voice, more than Adrian had expected for so simple an issue.

"Yes and no, Lieutenant." Voril replied. "Remember, we only met the one time. And a chance meeting in a public park isn't always the best place to get to know someone wearing an enemy uniform."

"Bridger said he'd talk to you. He keeps his word."

"He tried to." Voril told him. "But there was never a good time. About all he got the chance to tell me was that you nearly got yourself beaten to death once for refusing to denounce him."

"It was more than once. He only found out about the one time." The tone now was bitter. "Do you know why Mom and Dad named him Bridger?"

"Because that's what they wanted him to be, a bridge between both peoples." Voril sighed. "Since he's a ZAFT Commander and you're an Earth Forces Lieutenant, I'd sorta guessed that fell through."

"Yeah, kinda like the famous Tacoma Narrows Bridge, whipsawed by both sides until he either fell apart like it did or got out of the middle." Rockway's voice was both bitter and tired. "I'm glad he decided to just go. He deserved better than he could ever have here."

"So, Captain, you want to tell me how you ended up with these three?" Justice abruptly changed the subject.

Kayla nodded, accepting the change. "Yeah, I married Adrian day before yesterday."

The crawler nearly swerved off the road. Rockway's shock was impossible to miss; sudden bad driving aside the look on his face was classic. It took him several seconds to get his machine straightened out and his mouth closed.

"You married a serving ZAFT Lieutenant day before yesterday!" he said in a stunned tone.

"Adrian's a Captain now and yes, I did."

That was apparently more than the small youth could deal with and drive. He abruptly pulled off the road and stopped the engine. He sat there, hands on the wheel for a good three minutes before his breathing evened out again.

"And before you start, he caught me at Josh-A just before the Cyclops went off. It went from there."

Rockway nodded. "I see, I think."

"I love him, Justice." Her voice held an unmistakable warning. "And the kids are important to both of us."

"It happens." Rockway said softly. "It's not a bad thing. You're just going to be living what my parents hoped would happen with my brother. I have no issue with that."

"I'd like to know just why a Navy officer would help someone he knows is ZAFT," Adrian said evenly.

"I told you, I owe Yzak Joule. I'm paying him back."

"Owe him for what exactly?" Yuri asked with interest.

"Not blowing me to hell."

When the silence stretched, Kayla just sighed and prodded. "Some details would be useful here."

Rockway shrugged. "I was almost too close to that Genesis shot myself. The last analysis I saw said I was the third closest to the actual beam itself to survive. But the light off of it has done permanent damage to my eyes, which is what the visor is for. At any rate, I was floating out there in a mobile suit fast running out of power, unconscious because someone messed with my med-kit, and Joule's team stumbled across me. He didn't blow the suit up. He did drag it, and me, back to one of your support ships. He also argued for letting me have a chance to go to the Vision Research Center. So I owe him my life, my sight, and my hope for real recovery of most of it. End of nutshell story."

Yes, and the end of the details this small young man was going to give them, Adrian realized. Too bad. There was a real story here and he'd like to have it. The admission that someone had done something with the med-kit for his mobile suit opened a fascinating series of possibilities all on its own. Just the fact that someone this short and slight could manage a mobile suit had to be another interesting tale.

"So, you did get into the mobile suit program." Kayla said thoughtfully.

"Yes. I qualified high enough that Burns couldn't keep me out."

"What do you have?"

"105 Dagger."

She whistled appreciatively. Adrian was impressed too. The 105, a serious upgrade to the Strike Dagger, was still in limited enough production to have the suits available going to commanders, aces, and the training program graduates who would be the equivalent of a ZAFT redcoat. Rockway was definitely not a commander, he wasn't wearing the collar pins for it. He was also too young to be a veteran ace, which left redcoat equivalent. Interesting.

"I'm surprised you're still on active duty," Voril said quietly.

"My vision, with the visor, is better than 20/20. There is no exclusion for needing visual aids if they bring said vision up to standard. The Glittering Cursed Star, Jean Carey himself, wears glasses. And my sight is the only thing that took long term damage from the beam."

"Do I get an answer if I ask how bad?" Yuri enquired.

"My low light vision is now so far outside the human norm it isn't funny. But I can't handle any level of standard lighting at all. The visor cuts the input to my eyes to about the equivalent of a moonless night. The hope is that this will improve and I'll eventually recover to the point where I can get by with very heavy sunglasses but there is no assurance of that."

"That's a real abnormal response to getting your eyes burned," Kayla noted.

"Too true." Justice agreed. "But whatever it was that went wrong when they were making me seems to have a few unexpected side effects. Instead of losing rods or cones to the intensity, my eyes have added more, a lot more. It makes me wonder just how messed up I am."

"Excuse me? 'Making' you?"

Rockway put the crawler back in gear and rolled it out onto the highway again. He drove in silence, making it very clear that he was done answering questions. He didn't ask any more of his own either. A light tap on his arm and a warning look in Kayla's eyes kept Adrian from any effort to pry more data out of the younger man.

They rolled through the small city of Wendover without incident. Adrian noted a heavy military presence but it had the look of troops on leave rather than any kind of control factor or, more importantly, search party.

"Busy place," Voril remarked.

Rockway snorted in amusement. "Not at this hour."

"Eh?"

"Voril, it's barely seven thirty. There isn't much of anything open yet." Kayla told him.

"Then what are all these people doing out on the streets?"

"Going to work mostly." Justice said calmly. "The troops you are seeing are mostly on the tag end of their leave. If you really look, you'll see most of them look like they've been up for days. Which in a few cases may be true. But most of them have just been partying way too heartily. The main gates of the second largest training base in the whole of the Atlantic Federation are only five miles south of town. When this place is really busy it looks like it's been invaded."

Kayla suddenly turned to their driver. "Justice, what the hell are you doing here? This isn't a mobile suit training facility."

He didn't answer for several blocks, then he heaved a large sigh. "Kayla, I was only exchanged three weeks ago. I'm here for assessment. There are a number of people who are hoping I'll wash out. I've disappointed them so far."

"Why the hell do you even bother?" she snapped.

"Because I'm the only Rockway son left in the service." he replied evenly.

She shook her head. "Sometimes traditions aren't worth it."

"I still think this one is."

The finality in his voice ended this discussion too. Clearly, he knew and understood the resentment his family was under for his parent's unwise decision to let everyone know their first son was a Coordinator. Just as clearly, he did not intend to allow it to drive him out of the Navy.

What he was doing took real courage. Adrian found himself looking at the small, fragile, beautiful and damaged young enemy officer with genuine admiration. Here was another Earth Forces soldier he'd rather not meet on a battlefield. He had no idea how his skills would stack up against the others but that wasn't the point. It would be a real waste to have to kill one of the decent ones. The Alliance didn't have enough of them as it was.

Oddly, the silence in the vehicle was no longer strained. It couldn't be called warm or friendly but at least the hostility was gone. Adrian was content to have it so. And when Lieutenant Rockway showed no signs of wanting to talk, he respected the younger officer's wish and kept his own peace.

They left Wendover behind surprisingly quickly. The countryside, seemingly endless miles of it rolling in nearly identical small hills one behind the next and dreary in winter drab, had a scattering of homes set well off the road, a seemingly endless supply of cattle, and not much else. So White Rock, perched on one of the higher hills, stood out on the horizon several miles before they got to it.

"Tell me," Rockway suddenly spoke up as they came up on the largest truck stop they'd seen yet, "do you know where to meet whomever it is you're here to hook up with?"

"Excuse me?" Kayla replied, sounding puzzled.

"Please do not insult my intelligence. Your previous 'escort' was quite the talker. You are traveling through the network that smuggles endangered Coordinators out of North America. Once I realized who you were, I think I'd have figured that much out for myself even without his smack-you-in-the-face hints." The visored eyes turned toward Kayla. "And I figured out why you people knocked him out too. It's unfortunate that the situation made it too dangerous to just kill the shit. He's going to get someone, someone innocent probably, killed himself someday."

"He's got an unhealthy high opinion of his own right to judge others," Voril agreed coldly.

"I've met Eric Stanton before. I didn't like him then either." Justice shrugged. "Forget him. Do you know how to make connections with the next link in your chain?"

"We know the sign and the counter," Yuri told him. "And we've done this enough to be familiar with the likeliest locations in one of these places to find our contact."

"Then where do you want me to drop you?"

"Near the restaurant section will do."

"Right."

Ten minutes later the four of them were settling into another restaurant booth. This time they weren't going to be stuffing themselves though. They needed to keep their ears open for any discussion on weather in the Pacific Northwest.

Adrian could see Lieutenant Rockway refueling his odd vehicle from where he sat. They'd already said their good-bys; Rockway would be leaving immediately after paying for his fuel. It was odd, how they'd found probably the one solider in the whole of the Alliance who would recognize them on sight, and never admit it. He wondered just how much of an accident that was. Golden Eagle had promised they would have aid unlooked for after all.

"Mule," Voril suddenly said in surprise.

"Mule what?" Kayla asked as she checked over the menu for something light to snack on.

"The Spirit standing with Rockway," the silver head nodded very slightly toward the window. "That's Mule."

Kayla looked up, startled, then she grinned. "Makes sense. He's stubborn, smart, loyal, idiotically brave, and has always kept his own council. He 'n Mule would really get along."

"You've known him then for a while?" Adrian asked the question he'd wanted to since Rockway had stopped by their table.

"He was in the class behind mine at boot camp," she said quietly. "The instructors put him through hell. I think they had orders to wash him out. Only they couldn't. Because he wouldn't break. He did everything asked of him and then some. He was just too good. Around the middle of the course, his records caught the camp commander's eye. General Patton comes from a military family with the same kind of history of service as the Rockways. And he isn't the kind to throw away a good tool because it makes some desk jockey nervous. So he stepped in before things could get too out of hand. Once Patton made his opinion known, most of the shit stopped. They say the General's the spitting image of a distant ancestor, one everyone in their right mind didn't cross. I don't know about that George Patton, but the current one is hell on wheels when you get in his way."

"He said he was made," Yuri spoke softly, too aware of the surrounding Naturals not to be cautious with this subject.

"Don't know the whole story there either and I wouldn't believe anyone but his mother who says they do. But I've been told his dad was one of those unlucky guys who just don't throw boys. He's got something like fourteen sisters; his folks were very persistent in their efforts there." Kayla shook her head, eyes amused.

"Anyhow, when the military society around them made it clear Bridger wasn't going to be tolerated, they tried again. What little is known of the whole fiasco is that something caused the fertilized egg cell they were trying to make into a boy to split into two separate cells. They ended up with Justice and a twin sister named Honor. There's been a lot of speculation that the work didn't take quite right because he looks so damn much like a girl himself. But he is male, beyond question so given all the tests run on him over the years."

Adrian watched Rockway climb back into his modified crawler and roll off into the bright morning. What ever that young man might be, he still wished him luck. It sounded like he could use all he could get.

"I think maybe I'll look up your cousin when we get home and ask him for his side of that story," Adrian said as the crawler, headed back to Wendover, dropped from sight as the road turned down toward one of the many low spots they'd crossed to get here.

"I'd like to tag along," Voril admitted. "Yzak wasn't real forthcoming when I asked him right after the incident in the park."

"Do I want to know about that?" Yuri enquired.

Voril glanced around and went still. "Another time. I think I see someone who just may be our connection."

"Older couple, he's wearing a sheepskin jacket with Hopi embroidery on it and hers has Nez Perce designs? Both jackets with long fringes?" Kayla asked.

"I couldn't tell you where the designs came from but yes, the pair in the heavily decorated and fringed jackets."

"I think you're right."

Adrian paid superficial attention to his menu as he gave the approaching pair a quick once-over. They looked to be about Kayla's parent's age and in the same kind of hard working good shape. They were unmistakably also Native American as well.

" . . . . . you've been listening to that Cree boy too long!" The woman exclaimed as they came close enough to hear clearly. "I swear George, if I turned my back on you you'd move to the Yukon!"

"I never said anything about moving to the Yukon, Martha. Stop putting words in my mouth. I just said I like the weather patterns around Vancouver. There's no need to jump to any conclusions that I want to move!"

Oh yes, this was the contact all right. They were following the pattern of the earlier ones perfectly. And their eyes were sharp too without looking like they were. It was quite clear that they'd pretty much picked them out as the kids they were here to collect.

Kayla managed a genuine sounding chuckle. "And here I've always heard such great things about Seattle's weather."

"Nothing wrong with Seattle," the man agreed with an easy smile. "But it isn't Vancouver and that's all there is to it."

"Mom always raved about Seattle," Kayla kept the conversation going. "I've never been there so I can't say for sure."

"Ah, have you been to Vancouver?" the woman asked cheerily.

"Nope, not that lucky. I've been to Alaska though. That was beautiful country." Kayla smiled back. "I met my husband there."

Oh and he could only hope she wasn't going to say anything too unmistakable about that!

"You never know where you're going to find a good man," the lady agreed happily.

Kayla grinned, but also waited. There was some specific signal, Adrian didn't know it since it was something shown only to his wife, that she would not move without. He did know the Bronze Spider had set this up as an extra protection for her sister. For as their last guide had demonstrated, not everyone willing to help Coordinators leave the planet wanted them doing so with any Naturals in tow.

"Good men are hard to come by," Kayla said with a genuinely warm smile.

"Honey, it isn't that they're so hard to come by, it's that they're so hard to recognize under all those layers of stupid ideas about what a man has to be."

"You sound like my grandmother Spotted Horse."

The woman's smile faltered, and she stared closely. "You one of Maria's grandkids?"

"I'm Kayla." The reply was soft, and deadly firm.

"Shit." She turned to the man beside her who had been blocking the view of most of the other patrons in the place just by spreading his elbows and allowing a heavy fringe on the back of the arms and jacket to interrupt the line of sight and spoke very quietly. "We need to get Red Tailed Hawk's child and her friends out of here, now!"

"Sure Martha," the man's pleasant voice was suddenly pitched to carry, "whatever you want darling. Your cousin's girl and her friends can ride with us if she wants to. I don't mind helping the kids save the bus money."

"You game?" Kayla asked, her tiny nod telling them she knew more about these people than she should have.

"Fine. Anything that gets us to the house faster and cheaper is good." Adrian hoped he wasn't making a huge mistake here.

The woman suddenly stared at him for a second before shooting quick glances at Yuri and Voril. "Right, then lets go, Eagle Boy, Fox Kid, Crow Boy."

Medicine Woman, he abruptly realized she was a Medicine Woman like his new in-laws. The others caught it just as quickly. The distrust waiting to break out dissolved instantly.

They picked up their bags and followed their guides out. While neither gave any appearance of being in a hurry, they were still out the doors and half way across the parking lot in very short order. Both guides struck the four veterans they were leading as being on high alert too.

"Something we should know about?" Kayla enquired just loudly enough for the woman to catch it.

"New outfit, calls itself 'Phantom Pain'. Damn dangerous bunch and blindly dogmatic to boot. They've begun to haunt this place. Don't know who tipped 'em off. You're the last group that'll be coming through here until they're gone. We tried to get you redirected too but your last driver shut his radio off." she replied quickly.

"I didn't know he had a radio." Kayla shot a malevolent glance back toward where Eric was sleeping off his missed opportunity. "He tried to make a move on me. The boys put him to sleep with some of Grandmother's special stuff."

"Ah, wondered how you got out of that trouble."

They all whipped around to stare at her for a shocked second. Martha smiled coldly.

"Don't worry, it was Magpie told me about it and that you needed us early. She said one of Mule's Sons had picked you up but he wouldn't be able to do more than get you here." They'd reached a modest travel trailer and the woman was unlocking it quickly. "Get in. We're going to have to head straight north to Boise. The airport in Elko is also under watch."

"I'm beginning to develop a serious dislike of this new bunch," Kayla snarled as she climbed carefully into the tight space of the RV.

"You and a whole lot of other folks," George told her from the driver's seat. "They act like they're above the law and they brag about it too."

"In, in!" Martha snapped at Voril as he paused on the step to let Yuri clear the door.

"Yes, Ma'am." Voril whipped up and in, allowing her to close the door firmly behind him. George had the engine turned over before Martha could even get her door open. It couldn't be plainer that they were just this side of running scared.

As they began to roll forward, Yuri suddenly swore savagely. Adrian snapped around to look. An unmistakable military convoy was beginning to crest the hill.

"You kids duck. We're just gonna drive out of here like we're regular tourists. So get down now. You all need to get out of direct sight. I want you two boys to get into the overhead bunk. Hawk's Daughter, you and your lad take the one in the back. Try to keep anything from showing if someone looks in the windshield here." George gave quick, quiet orders. "Oh, and slide those bags of yours into the bathroom."

They followed the instructions instantly. Voril and Yuri opened the tiny bathroom's door and swiftly but neatly stacked their bags into the shower. It was the work of seconds after that for them to hop up onto and lay flat on the double bed that extended over the cab of the vehicle.

Adrian helped Kayla to the back of the RV while the other two dealt with the bags. The bed here, well couch really at the moment, wasn't well placed for trying the same lay flat trick Voril and Yuri were using. Instead Adrian sat on the floor; his legs spread just enough to give Kayla room to scrunch in in front of him. He braced his back on the panel that backed on the kitchen sink and his feet on the solid frame below the couch. His left arm wrapped around Kayla to hold her securely against him and his right was hooked over a small bar that ran between a pair of what looked like utility boxes. He held them both as tightly against the outside wall as he could.

"We're two cars back from getting out of the driveway," Martha reported clearly. "The convoy is Phantom Pain's all right. I've seen the ass driving the lead vehicle before. They're pulling in now. Keep your heads down!"

Adrian ducked. So did Kayla. At least there was no clear line of sight into this corner of the RV from the other side! The small window in the door was neatly and heavily curtained as was the long window at the rear. Only the one directly over their heads had the curtain slightly open. And it would be too dangerous to try to close it now.

"We're next out of here as soon as traffic breaks," Martha told them a few moments later. "Looks like Phantom Pain isn't actively hunting at the moment. They're parking in the back of the lot and walking up to the restaurant in neat, truckload groups."

"We are out of here!" George snapped as the somewhat clumsy vehicle rolled forward, slowly gaining speed as it took the hard right turn to enter the highway. "Glad we have Idaho plates on this thing. With most of the rest of the traffic heading to Wendover, it'll help them ignore us if they think we're just locals driving home."

Adrian relaxed his death grip on the small bar and leaned forward, reaching around Kayla. No one had said anything but it was clear that it would be dangerous to be seen for a while yet. So he snagged the throw pillows off the couch and the blanket they had been sitting on. It was the work of minutes to get those pillows tucked into the places where they would do the most good and to toss the blanket over them both.

Within minutes, he could feel Kayla relaxing. As they traveled in a surprisingly peaceful silence, the hum of the tires on the road acquired an almost hypnotic quality. The four fugitives were asleep before they even crossed the Idaho state line.


	50. Chapter 50

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will still get you ignored.)

No, this story is _not_ dead. Yes, I **WILL** finish it. It's just taking longer than it should.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed. On the other hand, the OC's are mine. Kindly to not borrow without permission.

* * *

The morning had already been a three ring circus from Hell and it wasn't even seven a.m. yet. Dad, John and Doug had all been up by five as they had stock duty today. Just why little Judy, Jamie's two year old, had decided to get up too was anybody's question. But when she'd come stumbling back up the stairs, wailing that Two-Great Grammy was all cold and stiff in the living room the day went straight into the toilet. And that was a thought neither Mom nor Dad would appreciate right about now.

General Grayhawk couldn't bring herself to care enough to censor her mind. It was hard enough controlling what came out of her mouth at the moment. Great-Gran Agnes had been an enduring fixture her whole life. And now, with no warning, she was gone.

Mom and Dad were both useless, too shocked and upset to function. First Kay was no better. Gran Spotted Horse was functional but impaired; Agnes Bear had been her Medicine teacher after all. Which dropped the whole mess in her lap, and damn it, she wanted to go off in a corner and cry too!

"Maria, did Doc Hughes give you any idea how long it was gonna take him to get here?" Jamie asked fretfully. "Mom's falling apart because we can't touch her until the Doc and the coroner get here."

"The whole grand parade should be here in the next fifteen minutes." Maria wanted to slap some sense back into her twin but it was too easy to understand why he was so adrift at the moment to allow real anger a place. "The Sheriff is coming with them. Has anyone started the coffee going yet? We're going to need gallons of it before dark."

"Alys and Todd are making coffee, toast and scrambling half the eggs in the county. I don't know who they expect to eat them. No one has any appetite."

"You're probably right about most of the eggs but the toast and the coffee will come in handy as the day wears on." She made a quick decision and grabbed his arm.

"Look, we need the stock taken care of. Just because we've taken a body hit doesn't give us the right to neglect the animals. Round up John, Richard, Crystal, and Doug and the five of you tend to the barns and the pastures. I think Dad has a couple weeks worth of hay set out on wagons; you can just tow one or two of them out and toss the bales into the feed bunks. If you fill them to the top, we can get away with just watering the horses tonight and there might be enough left to not have to feed tomorrow morning either."

Jamie nodded heavily, obviously in his own way, grateful to have a defined job to do for a while. He turned and rounded up the others, taking five bodies out of the way and a lot of grief and tension out the door with them. Gran Spotted Horse was managing Mom, Dad and First Kay. Carol had the children in the kitchen, where Maria discovered there were a lot fewer eggs being scrambled than Jamie had implied. Alys and Todd were rather white around the edges but their judgment wasn't completely shot.

The dying wail of a siren coming from somewhere up the drive warned her that the rest of the circus was about to arrive. She watched through the glass in the new front door as the EMT ambulance pulled up. It was flanked by Dr. Hughes car on the one side and Coroner Hsia's monster truck on the other. The Sheriff, all too familiar with how that behemoth of Mia's handled, elected to park beside Dr. Hughes. Then she had the door open and a small flood of officialdom poured in.

Kirby Rennie went to join her parents at once. The Sheriff really wasn't here so much for the death as he was as a decades long friend. She showed the others to the living room and then simply couldn't stay. She'd fought one gut ugly, genocidal bloody war but she couldn't make herself stay and watch them do their legally necessary things to her own great-grandmother. She found a chair in the dining room and just got herself out of everyone's way for a while.

The Bronze Spider was still staring at the pattern in the dining room rug when a soft cough arrested her attention some uncounted time later. She looked up to find her Great Uncle Matt and Charlie Yellow Dog standing just inside the door. They both looked a good ten years older than they had just the day before. Uncle Matt just raised one bushy eyebrow in question.

Maria shrugged. "Something got Judy up when the guys were getting ready to go feed the sheep. She found her."

"No idea what happened then, eh?" Charlie asked quietly.

"None. And nobody's suggested anything reasonable for why she'd be sitting there behind the drum in the first place."

The two old men exchanged a very grim look that caught her attention instantly. "What do you know?"

"Don't go gettin' ideas here," Charlie told her. "We don't know nothin' yet. But we both can't help but notice there's someone missin' from this disaster right now an' somehow, I don't think he's out feedin' sheep."

Maria felt her jaw sag slightly. How could she have missed that? He was such an unwanted and obnoxious presence; was it just relief that he'd kept his nasty mouth to himself for a change?

"Shit!" She hit her feet and bounded to the stairs. Great Uncle Jerome didn't have that kind of courtesy! He should have been down here, making a bad situation outright ugly. The two old shamen were right on her heels.

Maria Jean Grayhawk ignored all polite conventions and slammed the door of her great-uncle's bedroom open. Her right hand slapped the wall twice before it found the light switch. And from the moment she hit the door until the lights came on, there was no sound from the room.

Jerome Spotted Horse lay still in the bed. Her battle-trained eye recognized that he wasn't dead almost immediately but there was something terribly wrong just the same. Long strides brought her across the room, and into the unmistakable odor of urine and feces. His eyes were still closed. But once she got a look at his face, she understood everything.

The right side looked perfectly normal, an elderly man asleep. The left side looked like someone had taken a wax life mask of that same man and better than half-melted it. Every single muscle on the left side of the face was completely slack. It was eerie and, quite frankly, damn disturbing to look at.

"Stroke," Matt Spotted Horse said quietly.

"Massive one," Charlie agreed grimly. "By the smell an' the way he looks, happened better'n an hour ago too."

Matt nodded, eyes sad. "Yeah, this one Jerome isn't going to be talking his way out of."

"Man'll be damn lucky if he ever says a comprehendible word again." Charlie said absently, his usual exceptionally casual diction suddenly missing.

"You saw the drum, Charles. He won't be recovering from this, ever."

"What was she told, that she'd make that choice?"

"Don't ask, it isn't our right to know as it wasn't our choice to make."

"I'm hearing you say Great-Gran did this," Maria said grimly.

Her Uncle turned a bleak stare on her but the General just stared flatly back until the old man smiled bitterly. "She did. Agnes called on the Spirits to judge Jerome's heart, to weigh his intent against the intent of those he would harm and to deal with him accordingly. It's just this side of a true curse only because the shaman or medicine woman doing the calling does not make any suggestion at all regarding what the Spirits should do with their findings. And it isn't easy to do nor cheap for the caller."

"Does it usually kill?" She asked quietly.

"No," Matt replied. "But it takes a very heavy toll in the body's energy. Your great-grandmother no longer had the reserves to survive that and she knew it when she decided to do it. So something she saw made this worth the last of her life to her."

She stared icily at the ruin of a man lying in the bed. It wasn't really all that hard to imagine what Great-Grandmother had seen if you were honest with yourself about the man's corroded character. He would have gone to Blue Cosmos. He would have told them about Kayla, her children, her husband, his too-loyal friends. And they would have hunted them down before they could get off the planet and slaughtered them slowly. Then they would have come here, and done the same to her family. Because they'd allowed a Natural to chose to marry a Coordinator and bear him children.

She made no effort to either control her face or hide her thoughts as she turned and stalked for the door. "I'll let the EMTs know they have a case up here too."

"That's a very ugly attitude, Maria." Matt Spotted Horse held his arm out, stopping her. "Jerome ruined his soul with it. I don't advise you to keep it."

She turned her polished metal eyes on him and smiled, an expression that had backed down a would-be assassin once long enough for her to change the plans regarding just who died. "Don't worry. However it goes from this point on, what's been done now is a more fitting judgment than anything I could have ever come up with. I am actually content with it."

"Maria!"

"Matt, let her go." Charlie said flatly. "Then take a look across the bed."

With an order like that, the General turned as well. But there was nothing there that she could see. One glance at the two old men though said something was there.

"One of you want to enlighten the blind here?" She asked evenly.

"Later," Charlie snapped, voice iron hard. "This ain't no place for the blind. Ya get yerself outta here and fetch them EMT fellas. We'll deal with this afore they get up here. An' don't ferget ta close the door on yer way out!"

There were times to make a stand and there were times to retreat. This was a time to retreat. She couldn't see anything but the longer she faced the bed her great-uncle was lying in the stronger the feeling grew that something very old, very powerful, and damn angry was standing there. The wise soldier didn't go into battle unarmed, and if there was going to be a fight here, she was. The Bronze Spider made an immediate and strategic withdrawal. There were too many exceptionally powerful evil spirits Uncle Jerome's bitter soul could have attracted for her to be getting in the way of the medicine people when they had to deal with them.

As she closed the door though, she got her explanation in full as Charlie asked, very respectfully, "Coyote, why are you still here?"

She vacated the second floor of the house immediately. Really, if she dared, she'd have gathered everyone and run for the Arizona state line. _COYOTE_ was upstairs, and he was _mad_! She staggered into the dining room and melted into a handy chair, shaking like she hadn't since her earliest training days when a live fire exercise had gone horribly wrong, leaving her one of only fifteen survivors. She had no idea how long she'd been sitting there when she was dragged back to reality by worn and aggravated voice.

"Oh gods, not you too?" Gran Spotted Horse growled.

Maria looked up to find the old woman standing there, grief and irritation about equally mixed in her expression. "Gran, _Coyote_ is upstairs."

"Excuse me?" The crow dark eyes suddenly narrowed sharply.

"Uncle Matt said Great-Gran called his soul into judgment and died of it. He's had the kind of stroke you never come back from. And he and Charlie threw me out of the room. As I left, I heard Charlie ask Coyote why he was still there. _Coyote_. In our house. What the hell is going on in this nutso world?!?"

Maria Spotted Horse's eyes widened abruptly, grim understanding flaring in them as she realized just what the Spider was telling her, but all she said was, "Stay here. I'll get the EMTs."

Grateful for the chance to just let someone else take charge, she did as ordered. She was a soldier, give her a conventional battlefield and she would have no problems. But this was Spirit business and Maria Jean Grayhawk was brutally familiar enough with her own abilities to know when she was in over her head.

She heard the exclamations as Gran announced the new discovery and the tramp of feet and squeaking of equipment as the official cavalcade hastily made its way upstairs. She heard old Charlie's voice telling them that Uncle Jerome was still alive and letting them into the room. Coyote must have left then; he wouldn't endanger the EMTs by having them in if the angry Spirit was still there. It was only a few minutes later that she heard them all trooping back down, the drop and click of the gurney as the back wheels touched each step sharp enough to leave no doubt it was carrying a load. She didn't look around to verify it though. She'd already seen more than enough as it was.

It was perhaps a minute later that a mug of very hot coffee was waved under her nose. The aged hand holding it wore a massive turquoise ring and the arm was covered in a sky-blue shirt. It was Charlie then, Uncle Matt's shirt was green today. She took the offered drink without comment and managed a hefty swallow of the searing and viciously over-sweetened liquid. Well, yeah, her blood sugar probably _was_ a bit low right now.

"Damn fool was gonna tell Blue Cosmos 'bout the boys and the babies." Charlie said quietly. "I don' know why they're so important but seems they are. Coyote weren't happy with Jerome anyhow. Agnes just gave him the excuse to do somethin' he'd been plannin' for a long time here. Once she started drummin, weren't nothing anyone coulda done 'bout it."

"That part isn't what's got me spooked," Maria admitted.

"Ah, yeah, sharin' space with Coyote in a bad mood'll ruin 'bout anyone's mornin'," the old man agreed calmly.

"We in any trouble with the Spirit?" She was worried about that. He wasn't anyone to have pissed with you.

"No," Charlie said flatly.

"Do I want any details?"

"No."

"Where do we go from here then?" Maria knew when to cut her losses, if Charlie didn't think they should discuss Coyote's attitude, she wasn't going to be fool enough to push.

Charlie gave her a very evil grin. "Why, we make that Blue Cosmos lawyer lady who's gonna be comin' by in a couple hours real not welcome."

Oh great! They'd lost Great-grandmother. Great-Uncle Jerome was headed for the hospital with a stroke he'd clearly not be permitted to recover from. And now they had Larry's undoubtedly 'charming' lawyer coming too?

"What the hell did we do to deserve this?" The General tossed back the rest of the coffee when Charlie didn't bother to answer the rhetorical question and rolled to her feet. If they had this incoming too, it would behoove her to make sure as much of the family wasn't home as possible. Neither Mom or Dad would likely be able to stay civil to the woman but she knew she could get them to go to the funeral home with out much prodding. It was the other military members of the family she needed to get out of the house now. It would do no one's career any good to let grief and anger open a mouth too wide. Two hours Charlie had said here, ok, she could work with that.

She turned to the old man. "You plan to warn Gran and First Kay?"

"Yep. Matt'll be goin' with yer parents. He weren't here for the dust-up an' he don't need to be here for the fool. He'll tell 'em about the woman afore they hit town. They don't need to have to worry 'bout her today too an' they'll do a lot less of it if they ain't told until they're outta the house. I'll take care of the kids an' make sure they know to keep their big traps shut. 'Specially Alys. She's way too fond of the Fox to take much off any Blue Cosmos lawyer."

She nodded, reaching for her mobile phone. "I'll call Jamie. He can make sure the stock chores run a lot longer than they usually do. Think I'll suggest he take the others next door for breakfast too. I know Dad called Kit Two Bird to let him know why all the official equipment was going to be here. He and June'll feed the lot if we ask."

"We got a plan then."

The Bronze Spider just nodded, wondering how much of it would survive first contact with the enemy.

* * *

The middle of the night was generally not considered the best time to be doing delicate work. It was especially frowned on when one was both mentally and physically worn. On the other hand, it was the time when it was least likely that the opposition would be up to interfere. And Serin would most emphatically interfere if she caught him doing this. He was going to have to mislabel and hide the results too.

But she was wrong and he was not going to have her blocking this. Oh, her moral arguments were as sound as they came all right. And he was genuinely NOT a god and NO he didn't have some 'right' to make such decisions for the future.

But someone was going to make them and that was what she refused to see. The sheer existence of Coordinators made this inevitable. If it was possible, some damn fool would do it just to see what happened. Didn't matter if you were talking about art, architecture, machinery or biology. If there was something new that some idiot could think up, there was another idiot out there that would build it. And the idiots of the universe could imagine a lot.

One of them had imagined young Yamato. He still wasn't sure how they'd missed disaster with that boy. It would be so easy for someone with his abilities to become a monster. Instead, he was closer to being a saint, although he was quite human enough to miss that mark too. It was almost enough to convince him there might be something to the concept of religion.

Roland Ito was experienced enough to know that if the data on the boy got out, there would be deadly serious efforts made to duplicate, then to exceed him. Nor did he doubt that somewhere along the line, some research and development team wouldn't succeed at both.

The only thing that would stop this was making the genetics too widespread to make them interesting anymore. Oh, not _all_ the genetics of course. He really, really did not want to be the one who built the monster. But if he saw to the spread of the main 'advances' Kira represented, then the extras were a lot less likely to be correctly added.

He grinned wolfishly at the dish in front of him. No, give them the good base and they'd be too busy tucking in talents for music, art, or advanced mathematics to plan out the next Ultimate Coordinator the way Hibiki had. That someone, someday, would continue that work was possibly inevitable but he'd delay it as long as he humanly could.

A delicate touch brought the genetic materials into contact. For all their advances, it still wasn't really possible to guarantee the two sources would combine. Some eggs did refuse the sperm packet offered to them. But it was not common. And this one was accepted.

He sat back, satisfied. The Mendel genetics weren't going to go all that far. Too many of the cells had turned up damaged in one way or another when he really got down to trying to sort out some for this night's assembly line. Out of fifteen lines, it didn't look like he was going to get more than four or five viable offspring from any one. Two of them had only produced a single live cell out of the hundred or so in the package, another seven, only two. So there weren't going to be more than about fifty of these children no matter what he did. Any others, he was going to have to take the Mendel models and create for himself.

He would too. But that was for the future. Right now, he was using up their entire supply of Morrison genetics on as many of the viable Mendel cells as he could.

These future children were now the heart of the Ito Program. They would be naturally reproductive, freeing them from the chains of the lab bench. And they would, over time and a few generations, free all other well planned Coordinators as well. The not so well planned would eventually die out, victims of their ancestors' failed foresight.

He watched as the newly fertile zygote completed its first mitosis. He patiently waited until it reached the sixteen cell stage, then transferred it into the cryo unit. It would be possible to double the number of children by splitting this sixteen cell stage into a pair of eight cell units. But that many identical twins was not necessarily wise. He would have to give that very careful thought sometime soon. For the moment, it was good enough to get this far.

He yawned. Damn it! He didn't need this. He needed to get it all done tonight. But his hand was shaking enough now to tell him any more work wouldn't be possible. Not if he didn't want to seriously risk ruining what he was attempting. That was an unacceptable threat.

So instead, he carefully put everything away. The lab had to look like he hadn't done a thing here after Serin had left. Well, not a thing with the actual materials that was. He did intend to leave some theoretical work out for her to find. It was unlikely to change her mind, but it should distract her from thinking too hard about just how determined he was. When he turned out the lights, the lab was exactly how he wanted her to find it.

* * *

"_The desired result is a healthy and physically sound child. This will require patience. It will not be possible to achieve this goal in a single generation. There is still too much about the human genetic code that we do not fully understand and we must not remove any code that could be beneficial. Still, there is much we do know and we may confidently act upon it_."

Eileen Canaver shook her head slowly. Who would have thought there were two programs running when Coordinators were first being made in significant numbers! Dr. Morrison clearly knew what he was talking about here. He just as clearly understood how some people would take his suggestions.

"_It is a significant temptation to do the most through job one can on the first generation. It would be unwise in the extreme to do so though as the aforementioned ignorance could very easily lead to a potentially lethal mistake, ruining the work and either killing the child or causing unintended deformity. It is much safer to work across two or more generations. Five would be my personal choice to maximize the safety factors. However, it should be possible to do this in three and still maintain a solid safe margin_."

"_For all the safety we can provide for this, it must not be overlooked that this work will be violently opposed by a noteworthy portion of the global population. The mindset that holds humanity as a perfected thing, neither needing nor requiring further evolution, must not be disregarded. Such people have an unfortunate tendency to be murderously ferocious when their unforgiving attitudes are crossed. It is for that reason that I advocated the degree of secrecy noted in the previous chapter_."

"_It is impossible to overstate this: do not_ ever _ignore those who oppose this kind of progress for they will execute you for it_."

"_There are colleagues of mine who are promoting an even more radical approach to improving the general human condition. They have already begun to produce children that have been enhanced by not only the removal of known defects but by the addition of genes that should produce a far stronger and more intelligent individual. The first such experimental children do appear to live up to their expectations. However, a careful computer analysis of these changes forces the recognition that such children will not grow into naturally reproductive adults. The depth of change is so severe that the newly restructured genes will not behave correctly at mitosis, resulting in broken strands that will be unable to produce another generation. Thus, these children, while truly wonders in and of themselves, will be doomed to requiring a complete laboratory to have any hope of producing another generation. It is not to be forgotten that any group so dependent can be controlled by this means. The question of who should have the right to direct the genius of these children will be a political nightmare for the future with furious debate inevitable and outright war quite probable._"

The old Natural geneticist had been almost as good a predictor of the future as he was skilled in his field. Nor was she at all sure this war was going to be the only one fought over the existence of Coordinators. And there was very little she was going to be able to do about it.

Eileen was good at facing facts. One of the biggest she had to contend with was how briefly she was going to be functioning as Chairman of the Supreme Council. Not only could she not make long-range plans, she was exceptionally limited in the short-range ones she could push through as well. She was a caretaker, no more, no less, and everyone knew it.

It made it easy for those with a harder outlook on the Council to oppose her. Just getting the final treaty approved was going to be her most significant public accomplishment. There were going to be elections scheduled within four months of the signing of that treaty, she knew it. And she couldn't afford to lose that election. But she lacked the support to win it. If she was going to be able to retain any influence at all, she couldn't even run. She would have to stand down and work from the sidelines.

She looked at the old book in her hand again. This copy of "Genomic Health" had come to her courtesy of Miranda Thoms. Unfortunately, it seemed Gilbert Dullindal already knew all about both the book and the Naturals who had been following its advice for at least three generations now.

According to Serin, he had some plan involving this too. Well, when hadn't that man had a plan? He just thought too far ahead. She would lay good odds that he'd been working for this chance for at least ten years already.

Her eyes narrowed. How much further had that information gone? Commander Thoms had sent copies of this report to at least five people at the Science Institute as well as the one he'd sent her. Fortunately, those people tended to be rabidly paranoid about data leaks. It was very unlikely the information would get out of there. Not even Gilbert was going to be spreading it. He didn't need the problems it would cause any more than she did.

For no one needed the panic this would throw the radicals into. It was hard enough to get them to understand that the Plants hadn't won the war any more than the Alliance had lost it. They weren't good on the concept 'draw'. Give them this data and they'd be seeing super-Naturals everywhere! They might never get to the treaty stage at that rate.

She looked at the report in her hand. She could solve this quickly enough at least. The office boasted a shredder/grinder. Eileen just dropped the pages through it, ending that much of the risk immediately.

If she just returned the book to Miranda along with that awful novel the older woman had been pestering her to read no one was likely to give it a second look. That would remove the other printed danger from the office. It wasn't very probable that Dullindal would believe she didn't know anything about the Morrison Plan but if it was done carefully, it should be possible to convince him she had less information than she did and that she didn't _really_ understand what little she knew. He had a very healthy regard for his own abilities, a regard that had led him to dismiss other's input before. And she was no geneticist; he would be more liable to believe her lack of background had deceived her regarding the importance of the information.

The Interim Chairman smile thinly at the thought. She was going to have to ignore this data. There were genuine Naturals down there who could keep up with most Coordinators. And she couldn't give any hint that she knew this or that she recognized the long term danger. Because there was one Coordinator up here who would very probably kill her if he grasped how much she did know. And that Coordinator was quite possibly going to be her successor. It was an especially bitter pill. When had their own people become more dangerous to them than the Alliance?


	51. Chapter 51

Respect between Enemies – The BetanWerecat

Gundam Seed: "Descending Sword" and after. OCs with appearances by canon characters. The actions of Kira, Athrun, and the others have far reaching effects. Rated T for language and off screen activity. (Reviews are welcomed but not required. This is written only for my own enjoyment. Flaming me will still get you ignored.)

No, this story is _still_ not dead. Yes, I really, really **WILL** finish it. I've been dealing with the Great Unidentified Winter Bug and my brain has been more stopped up than my nose. Which is kinda scary when you think of it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed. On the other hand, the OC's are mine. Kindly to not borrow without permission.

* * *

Adrian decided it was a good thing he liked looking at trees and mountains. Because there sure wasn't much else to be seen at the moment and hadn't been ever since he'd awakened some four hours after they'd escaped from Nevada. Oh, there was an occasional small town and the odd road junction to break up the snow covered panorama but that was about it. Idaho was definitely a very vertical place.

If one was being honest, the sheer size of everything around him was amazing. Yes, he'd been on the planet before for an extended period. But the area around Carpentaria was nothing like the terrain around him now. It had impressed but not like landscape here did. The scales simply didn't compare.

They'd crossed the Colorado Rockies at night, jammed into the back of a small bus with the curtains drawn tight. He'd missed seeing those peaks up close and personal as he was seeing these. He'd missed the snow there too.

Snow. Now there was another thing he'd thought he knew something about. Frozen water, it came in tiny flakes with unlimited beautiful shapes that refracted the light from the microscopes used to see them into shimmering glories of color. He'd seen it covering the high country well back from the ZAFT base in Australia but he'd never gotten over there to check it out. Now, well now if something went wrong on one of those shockingly steep slopes around them, untold billions of those snowflakes would crash down and kill him instantly. It gave a whole new dimension to the word.

"The planet's amazing, isn't it?" Voril asked quietly, careful not to wake Yuri as he watched the passing landscapes from his comfortable spot on the over-the-cab bed.

"Very," Adrian agreed. "I thought I understood why some people down here don't think a Plant is all that impressive. Now I'm sure I do."

"Ha," Martha snorted. "A Plant _is_ an amazing structure. Only an impossibly narrow mind can deny that. But it's a man-made structure just the same. It just can't match the variety and grandeur of nature. No matter what delusions some folks have, humans are most positively not gods."

"They aren't automatically monsters either." George noted as he deftly maneuvered the RV past a small car laboring up the steep road. "One needs to judge people as carefully as you judge nature; keeping the limits and wonders of both carefully in mind as you do."

"It's difficult to see man as a wonder right now." Yuri's unexpected comment had a dry sharpness to it, one Adrian knew was based on certain recent experiences.

You could here the wry smile in George's voice when he answered. "War brings out the very best and the very worst of us. It always has. And I have to grant you it's hard to see the good points when the bad ones have been rubbing your nose in the cesspit."

Yuri sighed. "I'm tired of being hated for the crime of existing."

"I can understand that," Martha replied dryly. "I got a lot of the same kind of treatment when I was up on Junius Seven helping your folks get their planned animal program started. There were a lot of Coordinators who were damn rude to the visiting Natural specialist. They'd get suddenly polite when they discovered who I was but it never did make up for their opening behavior. The good folks were few and discouragingly far between but they did exist. They couldn't compensate for all the rude dogs, but they did keep me from dismissing your lot as complete wastes. The best of your folks were as decent to me as the best of my friends back home. It was reassuring to know they existed."

"You were on Junius Seven?" Voril asked before Adrian could.

"Yes, just before I retired from the University of Idaho's Department of Animal Husbandry. It was my last consulting job for the University, and then some prejudiced cretin destroyed it all." Martha suddenly had no humor left. "I lost some very good friends when that nuke went off."

"Is that why, . . . . . .?" Voril trailed off, unmistakably unsure how to ask the question without being impossibly crude.

"In part," George agreed before he could find another way to put his foot into it. "But this is also an attempt to make sure that the people who are driven out know that not everyone hates them. If they can recall some good people to balance the bad ones, maybe we can make a peace that is just for all and that will last. The reality is, if someone up there with enough hate in his heart was to disrupt the orbit of the wrong asteroid, we will all disappear in one big, bright light."

"Charming thought." Yuri's shudder was strong enough to be noticeable to everyone under the bed's slot.

"Pragmatic one though," Adrian noted with a soft sigh. "And not all that hard to do. Really, you have to wonder why Chairman Zala bothered with the Genesis. An asteroid would have been much, much cheaper and a lot harder to stop."

"Ah," Martha replied gently. "It wouldn't have been half so satisfying for him though. A simple rock? Where is the genius of the Coordinator displayed by throwing a rock? Even if it would have been a great howling _big_ one? I met him once, he had a deep need to force Naturals to recognize the superior abilities of Coordinators. I could just brain the people he grew up around. They ruined him. I don't think he really could allow himself to relate to any Natural on his own. His wife was a fine woman though and the anchor of his soul. We all lost terribly when she was murdered with everyone else on that Plant."

"No one more so than Athrun," Kayla's voice announced from the back of the RV. "He ended up losing both parents."

"Athrun Zala?" Martha turned around, a look of clear surprise on her face. "Kayla, have you actually _met_ that boy?"

"Yes," she replied as she moved up to take the seat beside Adrian's. "He ended up fighting with the people who followed Lacus Clyne. He was aboard the _Archangel_ when a Three Ships Alliance pilot hauled us in after our mobile suits got messed up getting just a touch too close to the first Genesis shot. He's a nice enough guy, really honest, great mobile suit pilot, damn good-looking, but very gloomy personality. He's with the Princess of Aube now."

"Really?" George was clearly startled. "There hasn't been any hint of that!"

"There isn't supposed to have been any hint of it." Adrian pointed out gently. "There are too many people here and from the Plants who want him dead right now."

"Oh, that's too bad! Lenore used to talk about him for hours. He must have been very badly affected by the war because she described him as a warm and loving boy." Martha frowned unhappily.

"There are reasons for the changes." Yuri agreed wearily.

The old woman just shook her head. "That's a shame. She and Don Ito used to sit in the barns and talk about their sons constantly."

Adrian stared at her in shock. He suddenly knew who she had to be. There had only been one expert from Earth who had worked closely with his father and Madam Zala.

"Dr. Fox?" He asked slowly. "Are you Dr. Angela Fox?"

Her head came around sharply as George nearly put them into the other lane in his surprise and the eyes that suddenly bored into his were not friendly. "Excuse me?"

"Are you Dr. Angela Fox?" He repeated his question. "Because she's the only animal husbandry expert from Earth Dad ever mentioned. I, . . . . . I'm Adrian, Adrian Ito."

"You knew Adrian's family?!?" Kayla yelped. "Oh hell! Do you have any pictures? All his were lost with the family. I've been wanting to put faces to their names ever since Adrian first started talking about them!"

"Arthur, pull us over at the next opportunity," the old woman ordered. "This isn't a conversation to hold in a moving RV."

"Really," he replied dryly. "What ever gave you the first clue?"

"That jerk you just gave the wheel wasn't a bad one."

"Your Mom will be happy you met someone who knew your family!" Voril said happily. "If there are pictures, that'll be even better!"

"Serin? Serin is still alive?" Dr. Fox asked sharply.

"Yes," Adrian couldn't meet anyone's eyes. "Mom, Grandfather and I were on our way home when the attack happened. We were within the blast halo when the nuke struck. Our shuttle survived because there was a larger cargo ship directly in between us and the blast."

Her eyebrows both rose. "The spavined old bull is still around too? Oh well, can't win 'em all."

"See!" Kayla cried. "Not everyone thinks Roland Ito is the best thing since sliced bread no matter what that old goat thinks!"

"I know," Adrian agreed with the obvious with a long-suffering sigh. "But do you have to crow about it?"

"Well, no, I don't. But it's so satisfying to yell at him, even when he isn't within ten thousand miles and can't hear it."

"All right," Arthur Fox said with wry amusement. "Sounds like Roland hasn't changed much." He nodded, "There's a scenic overlook coming up. Everyone hold on, a left turn in this old bus tends to feel a lot less stable than it is."

They parked, bundled up warmly, got out, talked, ate something that vaguely resembled lunch and talked some more. Adrian heard a number of stories that his father had told from a very different perspective. What he'd accepted without question as a boy became new insights on his lost home and his parents' world. For the first time since the destruction of Junius Seven, he rediscovered the occasionally fallible and often intriguing people his father, elder brother and their colleagues had been. Dr. Angela Fox and her husband returned his family to him, not as martyrs any longer, but as human beings again. And it was those human beings the Medicine Woman introduced his wife to. In his own mind, Adrian would owe her a debt for that kindness for the rest of his life.

They might have sat, talking and nibbling the leftovers for hours but a mobile phone rang in the cab of the RV. Arthur Fox answered it. While they couldn't hear the actual conversation, the sudden seriousness in the voice tone brought the pleasant visiting time to a swift end. By unspoken consensus, the boys policed their site while the two women packed up everything worth keeping. By the time the call ended, the only signs they'd been there were the RV itself and some tracks in the dirt.

"We need to get moving." Arthur told them as they clambered into the RV. "That was a friend. Eric Stanton was found dead in his bed at a truck stop outside Wendover. Someone stuck a needle in him. The only good thing about it is it happened at least four hours after you lot had already left."

"What was in the needle?" Kayla asked, at least as puzzled as she was disturbed. "I mean, I can see why someone would want the damn swine dead but why right now?"

The old man just shook his head. "We don't know the answer to either question. What we do know though is that the Nevada police are going to be looking for you lot as soon as they realize you were traveling with him. We have to get you out of the country and we have to do it soon."

"Grand Forks," Angela said suddenly. "We need to get to Grand Forks. Magpie says they can get a flight to Australia there. All other airports we could reach in under a day, including Vancouver, will have watchers before we can get there."

"Where is Grand Forks?" Voril asked.

"Montana." Kayla replied shortly, busy digging a map out of the pocket in the back of the front passenger seat of the RV.

"And this Montana is also where?" Yuri enquired politely.

"Dead east of here."

"Hang on," Arthur ordered as he put the RV into motion. "It's a good four hours across the mountains from here by the highway. It's going to be a bit longer going the way we will. We can't afford to be stopped."

"We won't be." Angela smiled grimly. "We can stick to the highway. Coyote won't let anything interfere with this trip."

All of them looked at each other but it was Kayla who voiced the common thought. "Coyote won't let anyone interfere. What the hell is this all about that _Coyote_ is taking such a hand!"

"No idea," the old Medicine Woman replied. "But be grateful for his help. I doubt you'd make it another fifty miles without it."

"How do you tell a Spirit thank you?" Adrian asked quite seriously.

"In this case, you accept the help he's giving you and don't look back."

"Yes, Ma'am," Voril said earnestly, "we will. But I'd still like to know how to say thank you anyway."

She turned in the seat as the RV began to pick up speed and gave them each a long moment's careful study before she answered. "For the moment, don't worry about it. I'll ask Magpie to check if there is anything Coyote wants from you. You can bother about it when the answer comes back."

"But . . . ."

"No!" Kayla cut Voril off immediately. "You do not harass the Spirits! If there's something Coyote wants from us for this, you can be damn sure he'll let us know. Until then, you say 'thank you Coyote' and you leave it at that. He's helping us, don't make him regret it."

"Thank you, Coyote." Voril and Yuri chorused promptly and immediately shut up.

Adrian added his own silent thanks, suddenly aware of an approving nod from Golden Eagle as he did so. It occurred to him to wonder just how he was going to explain any of this when he got home. Somehow, he didn't think just reporting they had been helped by Native American nature spirits was going to be well received by the ZAFT. He really didn't want to have to try to explain it to Commander Thoms either. Eagle just laughed at him.

* * *

Lance pulled the car up and parked it. They were here to see if Rebecca and the children wanted to visit more of the PLANT than just the grounds of the Ito Project, fascinating as they might be. He looked over at his son with caution. Jiro had been silent for the entire trip, and that was very abnormal for him.

"Something going on I need to know about?" He asked the boy, well aware that if his son didn't want to explain, he wouldn't.

"If Larry's nasty, can I smack him?"

"Are you anticipating problems at the Council Hall today?"

Jiro looked up, openly surprised. "No. He's gotten a lot better around people and as long as no one calls him bad names, he pretty much stays polite."

"Then what brought this up?" Lance asked, uncertain what could have started the train of thought in the first place.

His son gave him a stare that spoke volumes for how dense he thought his father was being. "Ah, Dad, you _asked_ me to think about having Larry and Shiloh live with us, remember?"

Oh, so that was what this was about! "Do you ask in hopes that I'll just agree to whatever you think should be done or did you have something specific in mind?"

Jiro stared fixedly at the front dash of the car, a monumental scowl on his face. Right. He'd been angling for permission to define 'nasty' himself.

"Then the answer is no." Lance eyed the boy's disappointment at the reply and decided it wasn't anything Jiro hadn't been expecting.

"Will I have to ask _every_ time?"

"We will have to define the situations where something can be done with his mother. We are not cutting her out of this young man! Larry is her son and I do not want you to pretend he isn't. Am I clear here?"

"But I'm older'n him!" Jiro protested. "And he still doesn't know how to stay outta trouble everywhere!"

Lance let one eyebrow rise. "And being older than Larry should justify smacking him how?"

"Not smacking him for nothing Dad! Only when he's nasty."

"Again, who is defining 'nasty', who is defining when 'smacking' is necessary?" Lance refused to give any ground. "Or have you forgotten that business your Grandmother went over last night about power and corruption?"

The boy's mouth opened, probably to continue the argument. Then Lance saw the lights go on as he made the connections. The mouth slowly closed. He waited patiently as the boy thought it through. There were times when having one of the really bright ones for a child had distinct advantages. He might only be a bit over five, but Jiro's reasoning powers were quite well developed.

The child finally looked up warily. "Not so smart then?"

"Not so smart," Lance agreed calmly.

"Oh."

"Yes, oh." Commander Thoms granted evenly, trying to indicate approval for the grasp of the concepts without stopping the thought processing going on. He continued to wait patiently as his son worked on the idea. Jiro thought in decision trees, fairly direct ones at this point but still, interrupting the considerations had a tendency to degrade the end results of the reasoning. This was important enough for their future as a family to wait until he got all the way done. It took him a good ten minutes.

"Dad, if we talk to his Mom, would you agree?"

"No," Lance said gently. "Wanting permission to hit people isn't a good thing Jiro."

"Could I yell at him?" The boy tried another approach.

"Would you settle for being able to just tell him he's being rude? Remember what you think of people who yell at other people. Are you so sure you should be doing it yourself?"

The amethyst eyes glared up resentfully for a few seconds before his innate sense of honesty took over. "Well, I guess not."

"No, I guess not too," He grinned warmly at the boy, offering support for making a good decision. "What you should think about it how you can catch Larry quickly when he starts to explode and help him to control himself. You will both get along better if you can do that than you ever will 'smacking' or yelling at each other."

Jiro smiled shyly back. Lance let himself hug the boy just like he would have when he was three, something he hadn't really done since the war started. It was amazingly comforting for him, and it was even better when Jiro suddenly hugged back. They were both grinning like fools by the time they scrambled out of the car to head for the main doors where Dr. Serin and Rebecca were waiting for them with Shiloh and Larry waving madly.

The three children went diving back into the main lobby to play hide-and-seek through the planting beds. Rebecca, smiling broadly, followed them immediately to see to it that the plants survived the game. Lance started after her when there was suddenly a sheaf of papers in front of him.

He turned to eye Serin quietly. "And these are what?"

"Oh, just a bit of data you should take a look at."

He took the papers, recognizing them abruptly. He was suddenly cold. These could end his hopes immediately. And there had been nothing in Serin's tone to tell him which way it was going to go.

The first three pages were a waste of paper and ink. He really didn't think they needed to print out the applicable laws governing this every damn time someone requested a gene-scan! He knew the laws already! He wouldn't have asked for it if he didn't after all.

The next pages were interesting even though they weren't vital to the decision. It was good to know that both Larry and Shiloh were healthy. His eyebrows did go up as he came to the section regarding their future marriage possibilities to find lone word 'unrestricted' in the section usually filled with cautions and citations of specific genetic markers that would have to be avoided.

He looked up at Serin, who smiled grimly. "They're the results of crossing Coordinator genetics with Morrison Plan genetics. They'll be part of the new wave of children Roland is creating who will free us from the absolute necessity of the reproductive labs."

He nodded, completely understanding, and then turned to the pages that mattered most. The reading got heavy immediately. It irritated him. There was no excuse for this. No one who wasn't a geneticist _needed_ most of this data at this point. Yes, it was a good thing to know your own genetic code. Fine, great. Did they have to waste four pages on it when all that mattered was the yes or no? And just where had they buried that anyway?

He was down to flipping back and forth through the last pages in frustration before Serin took pity on him and pointed to the section she knew he was seeking. Lance Thoms came to a complete stop, abruptly aware that he really, really didn't want to look and find a denial. He lowered the papers as that sank in.

He'd asked Jiro for a decision. He'd intended to abide by it; his son was the most important person in his life after all. But now, with the answer in his hand, he realized that Jiro had competition. That shook him. How had this young woman come to rival his son in his affections in less than a month of knowing her?

He looked up as shrieks of childish laughter rang through the high-ceilinged lobby. Larry and Jiro were racing through the front of the space with Shiloh and a brilliantly smiling Rebecca in hot pursuit. Lance watched, and let himself admit he'd fallen in love for the second time in his life. The idea of not having this wonderful woman beside him was not acceptable, period.

There was a quite sigh from the much older woman currently standing with him. "You aren't going to look until you have to are you?"

"I don't, can't accept a 'no'," he admitted quietly.

"Then it's just as well that the rating is A/B, now isn't it?" Serin asked as she walked off with a very smug smile.

"Wha . . . .?" Lance stumbled, then whipped up the sheets in his hands to stare at the relevant section. His eyes missed it on the first frantic effort to verify the information. On the third try, he locked onto the correct line.

And there it was, in clear black and white. He rated as an 'A' partner for her. She was a full 'B' for him. For a marriage in the Plants now, it was a stunningly high rating. Eyes wide, he stared at it. He glanced up at the two boys trying to hide behind one small bush. He knew what he wanted, what did his son want?

* * *

Being able to tap into the Project's security net did make it easier to keep an eye on Serin. It was a great help to know when she was going to be tied up in another part of the complex long enough to let him do some real work. And she was going to be involved with young Thoms and that Earth-born girl he fancied for a fair stretch of time today. He grinned to himself as he let himself into the small secure lab at the back of his office.

One quick look assured him nothing had been moved or removed. It was a relief since he knew she'd been in here this morning and, for his own security, this was the one place in the entire Project that had no security recording equipment in it. Too much of what he did in here simply could not be allowed to get out. It was safer to risk the vanishingly small chance of an enemy ambushing him here than having any unapproved information pass the door.

Swift hands pulled the materials he needed out of their hiding places and got the machinery set up. He'd reached a decision late last night. Any sequence that turned out to have only one or two viable samples was going to be twinned. That was too many really but he just couldn't allow himself to accept the chance of losing one of the gene sets if those so-limited samples died. So today he would split those two single zygotes but only one each of the seven sets with two viable samples before he got any more started.

For all that it was delicate work; it wasn't really hard to do. It only took a couple hours to complete, leaving him with nine twin sets and yet another decision to make. Well, a decision to formalize really. He'd more or less already made up his mind on how this should be handled. So one of each pair was deliberately mis-coded and set into the cryo unit that he would be taking to the lab for implantation in one of the maternal hosts later today and the other was correctly marked and put into the secret reserve. If all went well, the reserved zygotes wouldn't be incubated for years, possibly even a generation or two if he could just get hold of enough viable diversity from Earth.

If all went even better, the first of a new generation of truly independent Coordinators would be born nine months from now. Roland found himself just looking at the cryo unit. Who would ever have thought that arrogant, self-centered fool would really be the one to put together the genetic packages that truly would free them from the chains of the lab bench? He wondered if history would find this as ironic as he did or if it would dress up G.A.R.M. in a cloak of respectability because of it. The thought of Hibiki as a revered racial hero was actually kind of nauseating.

He took one last look around the lab to be sure he'd tidied everything back into the places things had been in when he entered. Serin had a very acute visual memory. Sometimes he'd been caught going behind her back by leaving something ridiculously minor out of place. He honestly didn't want to get into one more raging fight with his daughter-in-law, they took up valuable time and neither one of them were going to change their minds anyway. But the lab was in perfect order. Roland took the cryo unit and slipped out. He handed it off to his most reliable implantation team.

That done, he went to find Serin. She really shouldn't be getting too close to the lab until the work was done. Roland grinned to himself. Now, what petty bit of annoyance could he find to keep her occupied for the rest of the day?


End file.
